the cardboard review.

2011-2012 ITG Heroes and Prospects Review

2012-02-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

ITG fills the void in the hockey release schedule with their annual Heroes and Prospects set. Collectors year in and year out look forward to this release to get their hands on some of the youngest and most promising hockey players. This unique set showcases all types of hockey talent - from legendary to current, and to future.

Base Card Design -
The Heroes and Prospects base card design comes in a few different variations. There are the standard base cards which feature players in their CHL or AHL teams, Grad cards which show current NHL stars in their pre-NHL jerseys, and Hockey Hero cards which showcase hockey legends. Even with the numerous variations, they all look pretty much the same and give off the same feel - which is good because they all make up the same base set. All the cards have nice close-up photos of the featured player. For the most part, all the players are in bold, full-color photography that helps them jump off the card. The only non-examples of these would be from the legend's cards. But even with those, the ones I received in my box looked well-done with a clear image.

The predominant color of the H&P set is a faded gold. This background color permeates its way through the entire base set. Personally I think it's an odd color choice as it takes away slightly from the colorful player images. It makes the cards look a little older and a little tarnished - the color just does not evoke anything modern. Here a better color choice would have been a very bright white background with grey overtones. I think that would have made the base cards really pop. But as it stands, the background color choice brings down the set slightly. The rest of the design works well. ITG did a nice job incorporating the different team colors into the graphics. It's also fun to see the AHL and CHL logos featured on the cards. Many of these logos have a fun spirit to them that NHL logos sometimes can lack.

The back of the H&P cards are pretty standard fare. ITG does a very nice job of including a lot of information about the featured player. The information is laid out in a clean manner that is not confusing, and the space on the back is used well - nothing fancy, but a very functional card back. People who are stat completists may not appreciate only one line of statistics, but for most people like myself it's just fine.

The last base cards in the set have been used to pay tribute to players who have past away recently. This Tribute subset is something pretty unique to hockey cards... and is something that could be pretty touchy... but ITG handled it well. The cards are clean and very well done. The front cards are very stark and simple with only black and white tones. It's not morbid or morose. They in fact are classy cards. The back of the card has a write up of the player and some of the positive aspects of their game. Nice job on these ITG! And you can find some that feature sticker autographs of the player.

Base Card Design Score:

8/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
On average a box of H&P will net you 4 memorabilia cards - usually 2 autographs and 2 game-used pieces. As usual the game-used cards from ITG are outstanding and feature satisfying chunks of game-worn material. ITG goes out of its way to tell collectors as specifically as they can where their piece of hockey history came from.

The Ryan Strome game-used jersey pieces shown above is a great example of the kind of memorabilia cards in H&P. As you can see the size of the jersey pieces is massive. I actually really enjoyed this card when pulling it. Everything about it just works. The red, white, and black color scheme makes the card look very bold and modern. It uses simple, bold colors, and clean graphics that don't get in the way and distract or look dated. This is definitely the way ITG should move in terms of their design.

In the same vein is this triple jersey of Jake Allen, Louis Domingue, and Martin Jones. In terms of the card's look, it follows the previous card very well. I enjoy the color scheme and the size of the the three jersey pieces. They are the perfect size for being a three player piece. I do have a couple minor issues with this card that I think ITG could change easily. One is the lack of foil on card. This triple jersey is the silver version of the card. There are parts of the card that are in a flat silver color. Putting some shiny foil on the card (a la what UD does with Artifacts) would make the card really stand out. I'm not saying to make it tacky, but some restrained foil would look great on their gold and silver parallels. The second quibble I have is a common complaint with ITG's cards. The back of the card states that this is one of seventy cards produced. This is better than having to look online for a print run, but I know collectors would really appreciate true serial numbering on the cards like Panini and Upper Deck.

Here is a dual jersey insert card in horizontal format that I pulled. The jersey pieces are are about the same size as in the triple, but this card features larger photos of the players depicted. It's a nice card, but could be improved by the suggestions made with the triple jersey. In this case, it is a pretty rare card as it's the gold version limited to just 10 copies.

The standard autographed cards in H&P remind me a lot of autographed cards from other ITG sets. They definitely look different than in year's past, but they retain the same feel. As usual ITG is very clever with their masking of sticker autos. The stickers are integrated very well and you can hardly tell that's what they are. Though I'm not a huge fan of the color scheme, it does match well with what ITG was going for with their base set. I always think it's nice when companies think along the lines of making their sets work well within themselves.

Lastly, inserted at about the same rates as the game-used and auto cards are standard insert cards. These cards are printed on the same card stock as the base cards - they just have a different design and come in themes. I am not a fan of these cards as they are boring to me. If I were to include inserts into a product, I would do something to make them collectible and stand out from a crowd. I truly believe that cards don't need to have autos or jerseys on them to be cool, but companies have to be creative. I would have loved to see ITG make some cool inserts that had some different innovation to them. Examples of innovation from other companies are the use of acetate, die-cutting, thicker card stock, special foiling techniques, and special textures. This is an aspect that ITG could explore more.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8.75/10

Overall Rating -
ITG Heroes and Prospects is a set you can't really go wrong buying. It comes at a price point ranging from $75-$90 dollars per box and you get 4-5 nice hits per box. The product is an excellent mix of very young talent, current talent, and legendary talent. With 18 packs per box, it's also a product that you can sit and enjoy opening - well, unless you're trying to get it all as fast as you can to cut down on Youtube video length.

I definitely recommend adding this product to your purchase list. Aside from just getting cards that might be good now, this product is especially good for pulling cards that might be very hot in the future. It's a product sort of similar to baseball's Bowman draft and prospect cards. Many of those cards may not be worth a lot currently, but there may be one or two in there that sky rockets later. And H&P has that same sort of potential. Except here, you also have a chance of getting some pretty darn good current players as well.

Heroes and Prospects is a solid buy and something I wouldn't hesitate getting and trying out. I'm surprised that this box is my first ever! It definitely won't be my last.

Overall Rating:

9/10

(not and average)

Here's a box of H&P I got from Dave and Adam's Card World:

2011-2012 Crown Royale Review

2012-02-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hear ye, hear ye! Panini hath released it's most regal product of the year - Crown Royale! Known for its grandiose flair and special crown die-cut tops, Crown Royale is certainly a uniquely different type of card product. Last year's set was a very pleasant surprise - is this year's set still thee king of cards or has it stepped down from the throne? We'll find out as I review this new release.

Base Card Design -
The Crown Royale base cards are a spectacular example of a great original idea that has pretty much stood the test of time. The original Crown Royale cards came out in the 90's with crown die-cuts, and still these cards appeal to collectors nearly 20 years later. Obviously there is not a real tangible connection between ice-hockey or sports and the crown/royalty theme the set has, but for whatever reason, it just works... and it works well. The base cards feature two elements that make these cards stand out. The first is obviously the foil crown that adorns the top of the card. There are generous amounts of foil used, and not just a flat layering of foil, but a textured foil that gives the crown a more three-dimensional feel. The next feature is the large, up-close photo of the player. The player image is very large, and in bold, bright color. Each player looks as if they are jumping right off the card. One other element of the card worth mentioning is the velvety background. I love how it subtly displays the team's color. Nice touch.

There is not a lot of negative to say about the base card - just a couple of nit-pics. One is that the foil showing the player's name and team can be difficult to see in darker lighting because it blends in with the marble background. The other is the large '2011-2012' dates on the sides of the card. In scans these looked pretty hideous, but in person they're not as bad... still a bit too large for my taste.

The back of the base cards look appropriate for what they are. The graphics follow the same themes as the front of the card. The backs give collector's a paragraph of information to read about the player and show the player's 10/11 stats.

As with many other Panini products, the company pays tribute to some former NHL greats by adding them to their own subset. These cards are identical to the standard base cards except in a couple areas. The most obvious is the use of a black and white photo of the player. The second is in the large dates on the side fo the card. Instead of showing the current 11/12 release year, the dates have been changed to show the span of year's that the legend played from.

Rookie cards make their way into the main set of Crown Royale in three tiers. The first tier is the standard Rookie Royalty card. These cards have only one difference between them and the standard base card - the foil. Instead of silver foil, the rookies get a light blue foil. The next tier of rookie card are the Rookie Royalty Signature cards. These cards feature an on-card signature of the rookie. Surprisingly, neither the Rookie Royalty nor the Rookie Royalty Signatures have serial numbering. The only numbered cards you will find in the main set are the fabulous Rookie Silhouettes Signature Prime Materials cards. Each of those features a die-cut of the rookie over a large piece of the player's jersey. These cards are numbered to 99. They were a huge hit last year and should be again this year. Some have had complaints that parts of the game-used piece is covered up by the player die-cut, but that hasn't affected most collector's enjoyment of the card.

Base Card Design Score:

9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Each box of Crown Royale comes with four packs. In each of the four packs collectors can find one memorabilia or autograph. Though in some breaks I've seen a few packs that had two hits in them.... lucky! On average though, collectors can expect to receive about 2 autos and 2 game-used cards per box.

All of the inserts in Crown Royale will have some sort of royally themed design. The Lords of the NHL card of Daniel Sedin shown above is very typical of what you'll get. Everything about the card design is based on medieval concepts - all the way from the ornate graphics to the fonts used on the card. Everything about these cards is over-the-top, but in a very good way. The designers at Panini just went all out and it worked out beautifully.

Many of the game-used cards found in Crown Royale will feature single jersey swatches. This All the King's Men card gives you the single swatch in the shape of a shield. Having unique shapes is nice, but it doesn't make up for the fact that the jersey piece is so small. For such an expensive product, it would have been nice to have a more premium sized chunk of jersey. I guess in this kingdom, the king was a little thrifty.

Above is another example of a small jersey swatch on the card. This time though, the design element matches my feeling on the small jersey piece. In the All the King's Men insert, the shield shape made sense and looked pretty good. In this case the jersey floating in the middle of the card doesn't make a whole of design sense. It feels as if there just needed to be a spot for a value-added component (the jersey) so they just put it there with little to no thought.

Both jersey cards shown above do not feature any serial numbering.

Some of the autographed inserts you can find in Crown Royale this year are the Scratching the Surface cards (cards that feature the signature of the player on a faux ice rink), Voices of the Game (autographs of famous hockey broadcasters), insert set auto parallels, and Premier Date base card autographs. The Premier Date autograph of Martin St. Louis shown above is a sticker autograph numbered to 99. In the box I opened at my local hobby store it was the only serial numbered card I received.

Panini decided to cut down heavily on the number of parallel cards offered this year within Crown Royale. This year the only parallel (besides auto parallels) to find are the red foil versions of the base cards. The red foiling looks great on the card, but unfortunately none of these cards are numbered.

You can find other unique inserts sets within Crown Royale such as the hard-to-get Crown Jewels, non-rookie Silhouette Signatures, and recurring Private Signings cards.

Inserts/Autos/Game-Used Score:

7/10

Overall Rating -
Crown Royale is a very likable product. It's quirkiness is what makes it so great. The design of the product is very fun and there is absolutely nothing else like it in the hockey card market.

In terms of collectibility, the number one top draw will definitely be the Rookie Silhouette cards. These cards are beautifully designed and desired by many. These cards are also very difficult to get. In watching cases of this product get opened, the Silhouette card seems to fall about one per case of 12 boxes.

Would I recommend this product? Well, I would have to say... maybe. It really depends on what you are after when making this purchase. For those who love unique cards, this is a definite buy. For those looking to flip cards for sale, I would stay away. Many of the boxes I've seen opened do not yield anything close to the original purchase price. So many boxes opened were a few (scrub) rookie autographs and a couple jersey cards. If you just want the big prize of the Silhouette, be prepared to make a pretty big gamble. Seeing as there are 12 boxes per case, hitting the Silhouette in one or two or even three boxes is a pretty tough proposition.

That being said, Crown Royale is still a very solid product for collectors who want to add cool looking cards to their collections. I would definitely try a few boxes to see if I could hit a Silhouette, but not put too much more into it after that.

Overall Score:

8.5/10

(not an average)

Here I am at D & P Cards in Sacramento, CA breaking my box of 11/12 Crown Royale.

2011-2012 ITG Enforcers Review

2012-01-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

Round One... FIGHT! GET OVER HERE! FIVE HIT COMBO... BRUTALITY... wait... this isn't Mortal Kombat... it's 11/12 ITG Enforcers! A unique set of hockey cards celebrating the toughest of the tough that have ever played the game.

Base Card Design -
Like many of the one-pack ITG offerings of late, Enforcers does away with a standard base card and gives us insert style cards instead. The best of the bunch have to be the painted Bloody Battles cards. These cards immediately stood out to me when I saw them. ITG was smart to include these art cards because they allow ITG to have great images of the featured players without worrying about showing NHL licensed logos or properties. For those of you who don't know, ITG is not a licensed manufacturer of hockey cards so they are very limited in what they can use in terms of images on their products.

The Bloody Battle cards all feature a white and red color scheme. The white background gives a great contrast to the painted images and crimson blood splatter around the edges. I have to say that I am not a fan of the blood splatter look - it's tacky - but it probably works best on this card. Also a bit dated are the fonts used on these and other cards in the set. I know it seems like nit-picking, but these small details make a big difference in how I (and other consumers) view the product.

The back of the Bloody Battles cards give a very nice write-up of the action shown on the front. Like with other ITG products, I find myself impressed by and interested in the information on the backside. Other insert cards give similar descriptions or enforcer-centric stats.

This Tale of the Tape insert is an example of a card that features both a description and enforcer statistics on the back. Like two heavy weights in a weigh-in, the card puts their vital statistics side by side for comparison. It also recounts the time these two players dropped gloves to go at it on the ice. This card is also a good example of the limitations ITG has with the photos they can use. As you can see, the images are closely cropped head shots. Most all of the photos are like this to avoid seeing team logos and symbols. It's unfortunate that these are the images ITG has to work with, but I understand it's the best they can do with what they have.

Base Card Design Score:

6.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Each box of Enforcers will come packed with 2 jersey/patch cards and 5 autographs. It's impressive that the majority of memorabilia cards are autographs. In my opinion, it's always nicer to have a signature rather than a piece of cloth.

The standard autographs come on a very smartly designed card. As with the insert cards I was not impressed with the tacky blood splatter or late 90's style graphics and font, but I did really enjoy the idea of the signatures being on large band-aids. What a perfect idea for this set of cards! This idea makes perfect sense and certainly does stand out in a fun and cool way. The autographs are on stickers, but because of the design, you can hardly tell. The slight 'bump' of the sticker mimics the cloth under the band-aid just right. Give whoever came up with this idea a raise Dr. Price!

Single player jersey cards contain a generous swatch of jersey. I particularly like the Tony Twist jersey piece in this Instigator memorabilia card because the color of it is so bright on the card. This jersey insert set design is on the busier side, but works well. The left side border gives the card a more current look. As per all ITG memorabilia cards, the back clearly states that the jersey piece came from a St. Louis Blues jersey that was game-worn by Tony Twist. Love how ITG steps up and does this. Can other card companies follow suit with this practice?

This Combatants dual jersey card shown above is typical of a card featuring two players. The swatches are smaller than those of their single player card brethren. Unlike the Instigator insert, this one goes for an extreme industrial or possibly alien/space-marine type feel - at least that's what it reminds me of - could also be some sort of military or underground fighting ring design... not sure. I am sure, however, that I am not a fan of the design here. 'Dated' would again apply here.

Some of the nicest cards in the Enforcers set are also the most difficult to get. ITG has included Tough Patch 1 of 1 gigantic game-used patch pieces in this set. These cards look amazing and deserve the hardest-to-get status they hold in the product.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

6/10

Overall Rating -
11/12 ITG Enforcers is a product for a very niche portion of an already niche collecting base. The set focuses on players that are not the big scorers, most skilled skaters, or flashiest goalies. It's a set of the tough guys. To make a comparison, it would be similar to a football card set composed of only the defensive players. Would people buy it? Well... yes... some, but definitely not a majority.

Though I am not a fan of these players as a whole, I really appreciate what ITG has done here. They have come out with a set that fills a void in the hobby. It's great to see cards of players that made an impact on the ice that didn't involve filling up the offensive side of the score sheet. These players played pivotal roles on their teams and certainly have fans. Now these fans can get some autograph and memorabilia cards of these players.

I would not recommend this product to anyone except those who would appreciate it. It's definitely not a product to go out and buy to get traders or cards to flip for a quick profit. I found it fun to open and enjoy, but I probably will not be dipping into it any more than that. I do hope, however, that there are tough guy fans out there who will buy heavily into this product and really savor it. It's a rare treat for sure.

Overall Score:

6/10

(not and average)

2011-2012 Panini Limited Review

2012-01-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Panini releases it's first higher-end product of the year with 11/12 Limited Hockey. You get one pack of cards in a small box. Is it worth the price? Let's find out!

Base Card Design -
This year's limited base card surprised me greatly - they were not what I expected them to be at all. For those who haven't seen Limited before, the base cards are traditionally on very shiny foil board similar to that of Certified. This year's Limited hockey base are not. They are on a standard, thin glossy card stock with a few touches of foiling near the bottom of the card. The cards look nice, but I would think for the price paid for them, a foil board treatment would have been appropriate so that collectors would feel they got a more premium card for their money.

That being said, Panini has come out with a very pleasing base card design. The base cards have a mature look to them. In a way, they remind me of last year's UD Ultimate Collection. The players are in full color while the background of the card is in shades of black, white, and grey. Having the players in color in contrast to the background really help make for a stunning looking card. Other smart design choices are notable as well. The bottom border of the card features the player's name and team. This portion of the card utilizes nice, clean lines and thin, modern font. I appreciate the small amount of foil around the name to highlight it. Panini shows a lot of restraint here. It's very nice and subtle, not guady or overdone - like I said earlier - it's mature looking.

The upper portion of the card features the Limited logo as well as a 'fade to ice' backdrop. The Limited logo looks very classy, but as it stands, is very flat on the card. I've mentioned it before for other Panini products but I'll mention it again... putting foil on the logo would really class up the card. They have already put a bit of foil on the bottom of the card so I would think it wouldn't be too much to do the same with the logo.

Finishing off the top portion of the card is an interesting 'fade to ice' look. I'm not sure if this was purposeful, but it is the same design choice they used with Certified this year. It's certainly not a bad thing, it looks great, but I just wonder if it was a purposeful tie to their other brand or just a coincidence.

The backs of the base cards are horizontally oriented. They feature minimal stats as well as a write up of the player. I think the backs of the base cards are pretty busy, but in a good way. There is a lot going on and a lot to look at. You will also find the serial number of the card on the back. The common base cards are all numbered to 299.

As with previous Limited releases, Panini has chosen to include retired players as a part of the base set. Usually these cards are featured after the current players, but this year they take up the first portion of the set - cards numbered 1 through 50. These cards share the exact same design as the standard base cards except that the players are in black and white rather than in color. I can understand the choice to do this, but I personally would rather have the player in color. As they are, the players and the backgrounds blend too much for my liking.

Phenoms rookie cards make a return to this year to finish off the main set of cards. Like last year, Panini has manufactured a patch of cloth with a logo on it for the player to sign. I've noticed that this type of card is a favorite among the designers at Panini. In football products, they have players sign a leather type material. In basketball they have team logo cards as well. Though this year's Phenom cards look better than last years, I am just not a huge fan of them. It's hard for me to find a reason for the cloth inclusion. Since the piece of cloth was not worn by the player or used at an event, it simply doesn't have any meaningful place in my opinion. The cloth doesn't even represent any facet of the game aside from the logo being on it. I would be fine with the players simply signing on the card and be done with it - leave the extra cloth for the clothing manufacturers!

Base Design Score:

8/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Each pack/box of Limited will come with three autographs and/or memorabilia cards. Along with the base cards, you may also pull themed insert cards.

This insert card of Martin Brodeur is called Crease Cleaners. Obviously this insert set features the star goalies of the NHL. The inserts within Limited usually come in different variations with this one being the most basic. You will find when you open up Limited that each type of insert will have one with no autograph or memorabilia and others that include them. For player collectors, you will need to find out what variations of the cards your player has. Unfortunately, the checklist included with each box of Limited does not specify the different tiers and variations of the cards.

One thing that I would like to mention is that Panini has done a better job of masking the areas where jersey pieces, patches, and autographs should be on inserts. In past Limited releases, many of the cards had large areas of blank space where higher level variations would have autographs or memorabilia. The Brodeur card seen earlier is a good example of that as well as the Joe Thornton patch card shown above. This jumbo jersey card features a sweet piece of prime jersey. Another variation of this card would have an autograph below the swatch where the Sharks logo is. Now, Panini would fill in the space with team logos in previous releases, but this year the space feels smaller so that it doesn't feel as much like something is missing. It's not perfect, but I sense that Panini is making an effort to make their cards better. I know a lot of collectors did not like those large blank spaces on their cards - me included.

Probably the most common type of memorabilia/auto card will be the base card variations. These are simply base cards with added autographs, jerseys, or patches. They come with various levels of rarity and are quite a challenge to put together for player collectors.

Though I did not get many of them, there are quite a few different inserts to be found in Limited boxes this year. Banner Season, Retired Numbers, and Captains Courageous make a return. Private Signings can be found here too. One of the more unique inserts are the Net Presence cards. These inserts feature game-used nets. Personally, I'm not interested in nets. They don't really have a connection to a single player... it sort of has a connection to the goalie and all the players who have shot into it, but it's not a very personal item. I'd be interested to see how collector's feel about these type of cards. They actually remind me a bit of the game-used floor pieces in basketball cards. Every basketball player has probably stepped on that piece and the only thing that makes it a part of the player is the picture on the card. I don't know, perhaps more thinking is needed on these types of cards.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8.5/10

Overall Rating -
This year's Limited is an interesting but expensive product. It's the first premium product from Panini and the price certainly reflects that. I enjoyed opening my box of Limited, but I think the cost of each box can be pretty prohibitive for most collectors. At about $100 per box, it's a very risky gamble. Typically a box of Limited will yield some kind of autograph or two, a jersey card, and maybe a patch card... maybe. Usually a couple of the hits in the box are not very strong, and you would be lucky to get one card that is a winner money-wise. So the best you can hope for realistically is one nice card and a couple of so-so cards. Do you consider that risky? I certainly do.

I see Limited as a high roller's product. People that can afford it by buying boxes or a case at a time will get the most out of it. For those (like yours truly) who can only afford maybe a box or two, I think it's too much of a risk. I can say that I will buy products like this just to try out and have fun with, but if you're looking for good trade bait or a nice return, I would advise looking elsewhere. Each case of Limited contains 15 boxes. So getting a case hit in one or two boxes would be very difficult.

All in all, Panini has improved upon Limited this year. There are definitely nice cards to be found. I hope that a lot of collectors with deep pockets get cracking so everyone else can pick up the singles they need!

Overall Score:

7/10

(not an average)

Check out my break of 11/12 Limited at D & P Sports Cards in Sacramento, CA!

2011-2012 Upper Deck Black Diamond Review

2012-01-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

Upper Deck has released the venerable Black Diamond set. This staple of the Upper Deck line up has been around for well over a decade. Has Upper Deck found a way to make this year's version different from the previous years, or is it the same old same old? Let's find out by breaking open a couple hobby boxes

Base Card Design -
I mentioned to the local card shop owner that once you've seen a Black Diamond base card, you've pretty much seen them all. Each and every year Black Diamond cards come to us with a thin (in a good way) all-foil hockey card. Well, I can't say 'all foil'. The player on the front is not covered in foil - which is a good thing, and a smart choice by Upper Deck because having the player without foil helps the featured player stand out from the foiled background. This is unlike the Pinnacle Nufex cards that completely cover the card in shiny foil. It's interesting to compare the two foil cards from the two companies side to side. I actually prefer the Upper Deck card because the player is more prominently featured on the front of the card - it's less muddled. But anyways, getting back on track... As I was saying before, once you've seen a Black Diamond card you've pretty much seem them all. They all have the same feel and look to them. If you were to put all the Black Diamond base cards from all the years together and mix them up, I am sure collectors would have a difficult time figuring out which cards were from which year based on just the design. Not that the cards don't have differing designs from year to year, it's just that they all look very similar to each other. That being said, this year's design is quite nice. The card has a very modern look. I like how Upper Deck has chosen to use red, black, and silver as the main color scheme on the side border.

As per usual, Black Diamond comes in different tiers of rarity. The single diamond cards are the basic card. There are also double, triple, and quad diamonds to be found in boxes as well. One significant change in this year's set is the way Upper Deck has included the star players in the tiered system. In previous years UD had chosen to have minor stars as single diamonds and progressed upwards in star power as the diamonds increased. Not so this year. You can find mega stars of the NHL as single diamonds. There are players like Sidney Crosby, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, and Wayne Gretzky in the single diamond tier. It's nice that for this year, many of the big names are easily attainable. The quad diamond cards actually also contain some of the major stars from the single diamond tier except they are featured in All Star jersey's. So the quad diamond set of the stars is more of an All-Star subset. Definitely an interesting and different idea from the minds at UD.

Rookies come in two different tiers: triple diamond and quad diamond. You'll get a few triple diamond rookies per box and usually one quad diamond per box. Both of the rookie cards look exactly the same save for the number of diamonds shown on the bottom left hand corner. The rookie cards share similarities to the basic card except in two areas. The first is the larger side border. These cards have 'Rookie Gems' in rather large font. It looks great, especially with the rookie photo. Notice that the rookie photos are much larger and up-close than the standard cards. Upper Deck has subtly made the rookies a bit more prominent on the card. Very cool. The second area of difference is the background texture. The backgrounds of the rookie cards are much more textured than on the standard card. Again, this makes the cards feel more 'weighty' and more important. And of course they are - these are rookie cards for goodness sakes!

The back of the Black Diamond card is nicely done as you can see above. It's a very modern back that features a nice head shot of the player. All the basic information and stats are there along with a little write-up. All the lines zipping around on the back of the card remind me of the movie Tron. I can imagine zooming into the card and seeing those light bikes from Tron creating those lines on the card. Ok I'll stop with the nerd moment now. It is a very sweet looking card back.

Base Design Score:

8.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
One of my favorite things about Black Diamond is that it contains not only the standard autographs and game-used cards, it carries hard to pull great looking insert cards. As a hobbyist who collected a lot in the 90's, I was used to seeing insert sets with a lot of thought put into them. Back then companies would do all sorts of things to make their best inserts stand out. The hardest to pull inserts always looked the coolest and were the most desired. Black Diamond has very cool inserts. This year they have acetate Championship Ring, Hardware Heroes as well as the Lustrous Rookies inserts.

Though these cards don't have an autograph of memorabilia piece, I have found that collectors still covet these beautiful cards. You can't really tell in the image above, but the Connolly Lustrous Rookies insert is on foil board and the smaller picture is of clear acetate - a stunning card to see in person.

Game jersey cards make their return to Black Diamond this year with a twist. The game-used cards come in team sets of 4. You can put the 4 cards together like a mini puzzle and create a large image of the teams logo. On the Giroux above you can tell that it's the upper left hand part of the puzzle. Definitely a neat idea here - nothing mind blowing - but just a simple and fun little thing that adds some charm to the set. One thing collectors may notice is that the standard jersey card is down to 2 jersey pieces rather than 4. Is this a big deal? I don't think so, but maybe it may matter to some.

It may be difficult to from the scan above, but the Brandon Saad rookie card is a gold version limited to just 10. Yes, there are the standard ruby (/100), gold (/10, and onyx (/1) parallel cards to chase down in this set. You may also find parallel autographed versions of the jersey cards as well. They are extremely limited as their print run goes to just 5. Besides the 1/1 onyx cards, it's nice to have just a few parallel cards that are relatively easily attained.

UD Ice is once again back in Black Diamond! Every box of Black Diamond will contain one bonus pack of UD Ice. I have to say that Ice is like the opposite of Black Diamond. The cards a are very bright and feature just a touch of foil highlighting. The Ice cards look great this year and are a perfect compliment to the Black Diamond cards. Many collectors have missed Ice as a stand alone product, but at least it is not gone forever.

Of course the main draw of the Ice bonus pack will be for the Ice Premier rookie cards. Everyone and their grandmother will be tracking down the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/99. That card will be worth a great deal of green. But besides the value of the cards, the design of the cards are spectacular. I think one of the reasons why these cards remain so valued and collected is because of the way they look. These cards are slickly designed and attractive. It's a perfect rookie card without any need for autograph or memorabilia.

Gemography cards and other unannounced insert cards can be found in Black Diamond this year as well.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8.5/10

Overall Rating -
All in all I think I like Black Diamond better than I did last year. Upper Deck has tweaked the product in some fun ways and has made it a more interesting break. At 24 packs per box, it can be difficult to pull out nice hits just by buying packs so I recommend buying Black Diamond by the box. And also purchasing by the box is the only way to get your hands on the Ice bonus pack and your chance at an Ice Premier rookie card. To be honest, I think for some the Ice bonus pack will be the main temptation to purchase a box of Black Diamond. The other stuff that comes in the box will be just gravy. But I would caution discounting the things you can get in Black Diamond this year. There are some beautiful cards that would be great additions to any collection. So all in all, I'd so go get a box or two or three. That's a pretty good dip into Black Diamond this season.

Overall Score:

8.5/10

(not an average)

Here's one of my Black Diamond breaks:

2011-2012 Panini Pinnacle Review

2011-12-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

The month of December has seen no new hockey card products... until now! Huge thanks to Panini for releasing Pinnacle just before Christmas and the new year! I'm so glad that there is something new to bust open and collect. Let's rip into a couple boxes of this product and see what comes out!

Base Card Design -
Pinnacle arrives with a smoothly designed, very clean base card. Each card has a slick glossy feel on the front and a more matted type finish on the back. The base cards are all horizontally oriented - which is actually great for showcasing the photographs of the players. Like last year, Panini has placed some of the most unique pictures into this brand of hockey cards. We'll talk more about that later.

It's great to see actual action shots of the Jets!

The front side of the standard base cards all share similar elements to them. Each base card has a team-color themed border with the player's name and position. The Pinnacle brand logo is placed along the bottom right corner and the team logo is placed in the upper left. Though I do feel this year's Pinnacle design is an improvement from last years, I am not thrilled with it. As with many of Panini's products at this mid/low-end tier, the cards are very flat. These cards need to have a bit of foil or texturing to them to liven them up. I would have loved to see the Pinnacle logo, the team logo, or the bottom border with foil touches. Panini has access to their foil Dufex/Nufex technology. Adding some elements of that process to portions of the base card could have also upped the quality of the base cards. As they are, the base cards are, like I said before, flat and a bit boring in the design department.

Unlike the bland design of the base cards, the photographs that Panini has chosen to put on the face of the base cards do stand out in a very positive way. It was great fun to just shuffle through my stack of base cards and see the unique shots that were chosen for this set. More than any other Panini set out there, this one is the one that you can tell a lot of time was spent in carefully selecting photos. It definitely gives Upper Deck Series 1 a run for its money in terms of fabulous images. Here are a few select images from Pinnacle that stood out to me.

I love this shot of Benn's concentration on the puck.

Here's a great moment from the Winter Classic.

Stammer shows off the new NHL '12 cover with him on it.

The number one pick says hi to the number one pick.

Couture battling in front of the Colorado net.

Good game.

Yep, this is what Sid the Kid mostly looks like this year :(

The back of the base cards feature the same photo as on the front. Usually I am not a huge fan of using the same photo on the front and back, but here it's ok because there is a reason for it.

The back's of the cards tell the story of the photo on the front. It describes the situation in which the photo was taken in so it makes perfect sense to have the same photo. I am impressed with how Panini was able to include a write-up of specific moments during the NHL season and pair it with the appropriate image. This is not done very often and I applaud Panini's efforts here. Nice job Panini! Clap clap!

As usual, the rookie cards get special attention within the main set of cards. Each rookie card in Pinnacle is featured with Panini's Nufex foil technology. Panini needed to spice up the rookie cards in this set because their initial offering last year was extremely weak. Adding the Nufex foil to all the rookie cards does make them stand out - certainly more than just adding an ugly 'Ice Breakers' logo to the card like they did last year. If you look closely at the rookie cards, you'll notice that they look exactly the same as the standard base card except with the word 'rookie' next to the Pinnacle logo. There is actually no mention that these rookie cards are called Ice Breakers save for on the checklist. I did find that a little odd. It's not that big of deal though. These cards look great, and you'll find 3-4 of them in each 24 pack hobby box.

Something you will not find in each box of Pinnacle are the autographed Ice Breakers. Rookies numbered 281-290 feature sticker autographs. Here you'll find players like Mark Scheifele, Cody Hodgson, Gabriel Landeskog, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I must say that while it's great to be able to pull autographs of these hot rookies, the way these are done does not impress. The cards have a rectangular space in the middle of the card for the sticker autograph to go. It is certainly an awkward design. In person these sticker autographs remind me of a band-aid that's just slapped on the front. There must have been a better way to do this. C'mon Panini!

Base Design Score:

8/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -

Each hobby box of Panini will yield about three hits and a smattering of different insert cards. This year Panini has improved on past insert designs and created a few new ones for collectors to chase.

One of the new insertions this year are the Canvas Creations cards. This must be inspired a bit by last year's Chemistry on Canvas cards, but instead of featuring two players, it features a fully painted card of just one. This card is bright and has an elegant look to it. As you might expect, these inserts have a textured front like a matte painting would have. Fans of these types of cards will certainly enjoy this set.

The Tough Times inserts are back this year and have a new updated look. This year the cards feature more information on the front. This one of Wendel Clark has all the standard team and bio statistics as well as his career penalty minutes. The look of the card is that of an old advertisement poster you might see on the side of a building. I think it would have been great to make these cards have that paper feel to them to make them extra unique and completely fill out the theme the designers were going for. Like last year there are autographed versions to be found.

Fans of the Game inserts make their return as well. I think these cards look great (not just because Alyssa Milano is on the front of one). I really like how bright and modern the cards look. A huge step up from what they had previously.

The space for the autograph is well done on these inserts. I only wish they were so on all Panini's offerings. Now why did I get Steve's auto and not Alyssa's!?! Can these two cards be more polar opposite?

In terms of game-used cards, Pinnacle introduces Game Night cards. These are pretty standard jersey cards with a nice background design. This insert set reminds me a little of the Canvas Creations set. Both have a modern elegance to them. Though it's just a standard jersey insert, these look classy. I think this would be a nice and relatively easy set to complete (unless there are short prints that I'm not aware of). These Game Night cards also may feature autographed versions.

A more generic (and larger) set are the Threads cards. I guess you could say this is Pinnacle's version of Certified's Fabric of the Game cards. This insert set is all about the jersey and patch pieces. The standard jersey cards are nothing spectacular, but the patch versions can feature some pretty nice pieces and are pretty low numbered. The Spezza shown above is serial numbered to just 25. This would be a very challenging set to assemble. According to the checklist there are 90 Threads insert cards. I have a feeling that people who buy Pinnacle blasters will be pulling these pretty regularly.

There are other inserts to be found within Pinnacle boxes. Some that have made a return from last year are Team Pinnacle, Pantheon, and Yours Truly (originally from Zenith). Some are new like Breathroughs (shown above), Pinnacle Black, Pinnacle Captains, and Starting Six Threads featuring 6 pieces of game-used materials. Overall there is a whole lot to find when purchasing a box of Pinnacle.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -

Pinnacle will be a brand that most can afford. It is on-par with Upper Deck Series 1 in terms of pricing. I have to say that the quality of UD1 is a bit higher than that of Pinnacle, but Pinnacle shines much more brightly in terms of the amount and types of different insert sets (with and without memorabilia) available. I am a big fan of the photographs used in the base set and enjoyed being able to find autographed rookie cards. What I didn't like about Pinnacle was the overall quality of card design. It was a real roller coaster. Some aspects of Pinnacle were extremely well done, while others weren't so much.

I think that Pinnacle is still trying to find its legs. The 11/12 offering is an improvement over last years. It's a fun product to open, but I would recommend only Pinnacle in smaller doses and certainly only by the hobby box. Per pack it will be difficult to pull a good hit, and per blaster I have nightmares of getting no name Threads cards.

Pinnacle hits the market at the perfect time. It's a nice, relatively cheap, product that can provide some thrills at a time when not a whole lot of new hockey cards are out. Have fun cracking some boxes!

Overall Score:

8/10

(not an average)

Check out my two boxes of 11/12 Pinnacle opened at D&P Cards in Sacramento.

2011-2012 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition Review

2011-11-25T16:51:00.001-08:00

It's taken a while, but I finally get to review ITG's Ultimate Memorabilia 11! I would like to first thank Youtube user tvtvrain (Miles) for helping me get the cards necessary for this review. Without him, this review either would not have happened or would have been even more delayed. Please go to his Youtube channel and check him out. Amazing, amazing stuff there... and he's a big ITG fan. Now, let's see what nastiness ITG brings to the table with their uber high-end release.

Base Card Design -
Each standard pack of UM11 comes with three cards - the first of which is the base card. Even though there is no memorabilia or autograph on these cards, they are encased in ITG's special card holder. Like all ITG encapsulated cards, the inset at the top gives information about what the card you have is: the product name/year, type, player, number of copies, and number in the production run. For UM11, ITG chose to go with a very basic base card design. The card is only two color tones - white and silver. The artwork looks great, but to me the card is quite bland. The silver ink is too close to the white background and gives the cards a very washed out feel. It just doesn't stand out. I would have preferred a bolder approach - perhaps a different choice than silver or to just have the player image in full color. As it stands, what sticks out to me most is the foil green label above the card.

The back of the base cards are nice. I definitely like the thin silver border over the thick one on the front - it's pretty classy. Now I don't mind the back's use of silver ink like I did on the front. It's very clean and regal, and works great with the paragraph. I enjoy that the card features a lengthy paragraph of information about the player. These cards do no contain any stat lines, but often these super high-end cards do not carry them, or even if they do, very minimally.

All the standard silver versions of the base cards are limited to only 62. Yes, these cards are scarce! In packs you may find other versions of the base cards such as gold ones or even 1 of 1 original artwork versions of the base cards.

Base Card Design Score:

6.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Similar to other high-end releases, this is where the meat and potatoes of the product are. Aside from the base card, the other two cards within the pack are an autograph card and a memorabilia card. Some cards will feature an autograph along with a memorabilia piece. And every card will have an extremely low production run.

Shown above is a standard autographed card you might find in UM11. It's of goalie legend Dominik Hasek. This card is numbered 8 of 9. The design of this card is top notch. In the past I, along with other collectors, have had issues with how ITG designed their cards. Not here. This Ultimate Legend Autograph looks great from top to bottom. The color scheme is very modern. I love the shades of grey that ITG employs here. There is something very industrial about it. The single red border of the left hand side of the card is a great accent. The lines flow well and every piece of the card is perfect where it is, from the picture, to the framed autograph, to the logos. This card looks just as good as anything coming out of Upper Deck and Panini. Excellent job here ITG. This is the way modern cards look!

This Stan Mikita jersey card is typical of a jersey found in UM11. It's probably the most basic type you will find in the product. Even though it's just a single jersey swatch, it is still limited to only 24 copies, and contains a good-sized chunk of jersey. What I love about this card is that the back indicates that the jersey did indeed come from a game-used Chicago Blackhawks jersey that Mikita wore. It's such a bold statement to make in the current state of card production! So many other companies use event-worn pieces in their cards, but ITG boldly tells the collector that their pieces are from actual games. In terms of this card design, it's not the greatest, but it still looks good. It's lines are reminiscent of SPx without all the foil highlights.

Now here's an interesting idea for a card - encapsulate a special moment in time. This card highlights Dave Andreychuk's 600th goal. He scored his 600th on November 23, 2002 on Corey Schwab. The card has a piece of Andreychuk's stick and a swatch of Schwab's jersey. I think this is a wonderful idea, but the execution of it could have been better in my opinion. I like the fact that there is a picture of Andreychuk, because I know in the past ITG would put out cards with no player image on the front. But I think it would have been even better to also include Schwab. Perhaps turn the card horizontally and make it seem like a dual between the two players - I don't know - just an idea. The best would be to have an image of the goal being scored. Unfortunately ITG does not have an NHL license so probably getting a photo of the actual 600th goal would have been out of the question. And that is really too bad.

One pack in every 10-box case of UM11 will be a hot pack. These packs will contain some of the best patches from the product. I was fortunate enough to pull a hot pack in the one pack that I bought of UM11. Pretty lucky, but these cards look great and are limited to only 9 for modern players - 4 for vintage. I think including these hot packs as a special surprise for collectors was a great idea. ITG did a wonderful job of changing up the design to really represent what a hot patch should be like: RED HOT! Changing the label to indicate the heat was spot on. Over the entire production run of UM11 there were only 150 hot packs produced.

There are many more amazing things to be found in UM11. The first that comes to mind are the 1 of 1 Ultimate Emblems cards. If you don't know what those are do yourself a favor and see if you can find some pictures of them on the internet. They will blow your mind.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

9/10

Overall Rating -
ITG's Ultimate Memorabilia 11th Edition is not a product for everyone simply for the fact that most people will not be able to afford a box. Even one pack of three cards is significantly higher than a standard box of hockey cards. But for those who want the best quality of memorabilia and the chance at some truly ridiculous game-used pieces... this is the product to get.

The best way of experiencing UM11 is to get a box or to get boxes of it. Purchasing just one pack is a pretty risky gamble, but would suffice for just a taste of the product. For those who can afford it, UM11 is a product that delivers great thrills when being opened. It certainly ranks right up with the Cup and Dominion.

This year's Ultimate Memorabilia offering has improved in the design department, and I think this will attract more and more collectors to it. It's not all the way there yet, but it's so close! I'm really pleased to see ITG continue to step up their card design. Particularly impressive was the Hasek autograph card shown above. More cards like this will definitely catch the eye of collectors who value not only the quality of the memorabilia, but also of the way the cards look.

Overall Rating:

9/10

(not an average)

I pulled a hot pack!

2011-2012 Panini Certified Review

2011-11-23T14:38:00.001-08:00

One of Panini's strongest offerings has hit the market - Certified hockey is out! Will these cards bring strong value to collectors? Will they measure up to the bar set by last year's set? Let's find out together as we go through a box of 11/12 Panini Certified.

Base Card Design -
Before I got bought my box of Certified I had looked on the internet to get a feel of what the product was like. One of the things that initially looked pretty weak were the base cards. Now that I have them in hand, I can say I was wrong - looking at the base cards through a computer screen does not do them justice. The base cards are very pleasing to the eye. Like last year's cards, these cards are all on foil board, and the foil is done right. The foil enhances the overall design, and is actually absolutely perfect for the card. I really enjoy the upper portion of the card. Each card has an ice background that goes so well with hockey. The bottom of the card is straightforward and modern. Very sleek and refined. The base card looks elegant, feels modern, and is a step up from last year's design. It's brighter, and the players pop out more. Superb looking cards.

The back of the Certified cards have the same design notes as the front sans the foil. The back of the card is functional but does not add anything great to the cards. All the basic information that is needed is there, but I would have liked Panini to be more creative with them. All of the cards feature just one line of player stats from the prior season and a small paragraph about the featured player.

Immortals are a subset of the base cards. Panini has chosen to include a select group of players from the past to include within the main Certified set. These cards are similar to the standard base cards except that they feature only black, grey, and white color tones. It's a nice idea to highlight the fact that these player's no longer play in the league. The word 'Immortals' is prominently displayed at the top of each card. The cards are certainly bold, and do a good job of including retired players. It's a fun way to add more of the older favorites into a set. The Immortals are more limited than standard base cards. In my box I only pulled one. They are serial numbered to 500.

Rounding out the main numbered set are the Freshman Signature and Freshman Fabric Signatures cards. The cards obviously feature the rookies from the new season. Panini scores big here in that these are the first official autographed cards you can get of these players. Artifacts had the auto redemptions, but these autographs are live and in the product. The card I got from my box was of Senator's rookie Colin Greening. It's great that the signature is on card, but the card is not serial numbered. There is ample room at the bottom of the card for the player's to sign. I'm not as impressed with this design as I am with the standard base cards. The card looks a bit cluttered and inelegant to me.

Overall though, the base cards are extremely well done. The main set of cards will be a challenge to put together, but will be an impressive feat and a fantastic group of cards to have.

Base Card Design Score:

9/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Each box of Certified will net you about four hits. In my box one of the hits was the Freshman Signature card from the main set. My other three were all from the same insert set - Fabric of the Game.

Fabric of the Game cards have been a long-running staple in Certified for years now. This year's version gives some visual updates to this venerable insert line, but overall it delivers exactly what it did last year. Above is a Brent Burns FotG card. This is the most common version of the card, limited to 399. It has a single square of jersey set amongst a wide white area. The design, though updated, is not spectacular and doesn't really stand out. The jersey looks very lonely amongst the field of white - it looks a bit sad to me.

The Lucic card above is a bit nicer in that there is a crazy patch in the cut out. This patch literally is popping out of the card. Without the patch craziness the cards suffers from the same blandness of the standard FotG cards. This one is numbered to just 25.

The Subban above is yet another variation of the FotG cards. This one features a die-cut of PK's jersey number. Though it's nice to have some die-cutting, this particular type doesn't do much for me visually either. The number pieces are very small. I was surprised to look on the back and find out that this card was also limited to just 25. Now there are FotG cards that fully utilize the white area of the card. Some cards feature the team name, some feature stats, and some have NHL. Those cards have a bit more of a 'wow-factor' to them. My three examples from my box sadly didn't (save for the nice patch on the Lucic).

I am a bit afraid to see how many Fabric of the Game variations there are in Certified. For people who collect cards of certain players, this set will be either 1. a super fun challenge or 2. a complete nightmare. The Fabric of the Game set features many NHLers. There are 150 players that have a Fabric of the Game card. See if who you like has one! My personally collected player, Logan Couture, does not have one. I'm actually kind of surprised at that.

There are plenty of other game-used and autograph inserts to be found in Certified this year. One of them is called Big Pulls Signatures. This is a unique card in that the signature can be literally pulled out of the card. The concept is to have a signature on fabric within a larger card. You can slide the inner fabric card out and look closely at your autograph. It's a neat idea. I give credit to Panini for trying things like this out. Are they going to be a hit with collectors? Just a gimmick? Time will definitely tell us.

Non-auto/memorabilia cards can also be found in Certified. I found this Masked Marvels of James Reimer in my box. These Masked Marvels cards show two images of the featured goalie. One is a close-up shot of the goalie and the other is an above-the-goalie shot. When I first heard of the Masked Marvels set last year I was hoping for an insert that featured the masks of the goalies more prominently. I find that these cards are a bit lacking. In my opinion, the areal view shot could be done away with and have the entire card feature a close up view of the goalie's mask. In the past collector's have clamored over cards like that. Last year these cards didn't get a lot of hype, and I don't foresee them getting much this year as well.

Other insert sets in Certified include Certified Potential and Gold Team. These cards come in different variations be it with memorabilia or a more limited print run.

Speaking of variations, the mirror cards are back in Certified... but of course they would be! The most common types are mirror red and mirror blue, but there are more challenging colors to look for too. And of course some feature autographed variations and others memorabilia variations. I could go nuts just thinking of all the variations to be found in Certified... so I'll just stop now.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -
This year's Certified offering is strong - the cards are nice and they have a premium feel about them. At $100/box, the cards are in reach of many collectors. It's definitely a product that should be given a try.

In my opinion, there are parts to Certified that have surpassed last season's set, but other parts that left me wanting more.

On the positive side, the base cards are great. For collector's who like to collect the main set or just base, the cards are beautiful and elegant. Collector's who like to chase hits and get auto/memorabilia cards will also be pleased with Certified. The cards you get in Certified are great trading and selling.

On the negative side, player collectors and set completionists will be pulling their hair out trying to find all the variations and limited cards in Certified. There are just so many variations in this set! And many of them have extremely low print runs. It will be a tough challenge. No doubt. Get ready to hear all the moaning and groaning from player collectors! Me included!

Overall Certified is again a must have product for hockey card collectors. It's a fun break with plenty to look for inside. Happy hunting!

Overall Rating:

9/10

(not an average)

Check out my box of 11/12 Certified from D&P Cards in Sacramento, Ca.

2011-2012 Upper Deck Series 1 Review

2011-11-08T22:02:00.000-08:00

The most solid product year in and year out has arrived! Yes, it's Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey, complete with the most desired rookie cards, the Young Guns. How does this year's release look? Anything new for 2011-12? You bet!

Base Card Design -
Upper Deck has always been known for their beautiful base card photography. And this year is no different. The design of the base cards really give the most amount of space possible for the photograph. The cards let the pictures do all the talking. And they are truly is a wonder to behold. The images captured on these cards are really stunning. There are a mix of close-ups, action shots, special moments, and candid shots balanced together to make a comprehensive hockey card set. Just check out these cards!

Maybe Ovi should start over John Beck... just sayin'.

Hmm, a helmet would probably help lesson concussions.

Steve looks like he's pretty excited.

This is one of the Shark's most feared foes?!?

Yep, Mikka, that's called 'the sun'.

If I were to make one criticism of these cards, it would be the rounded looking 'globe' border of the vertically oriented cards. This design idea reminds me of last season's Ultimate Collection base cards - which were great, but it just seems a bit out of place here. And yes, only the vertical cards don't look as good to me. The horizontal cards look great with this design.

The back of the card is very cleanly laid out as you can see. The top of the card features an alternate photo of the featured player. There is plenty of room for statistics and even a small paragraph of information for players who's stats don't take up the entire back of the card.

As usual, the hottest cards to come out of UD Series 1 are not the jersey cards, parallels, autographs, or other inserts... the hottest cards by far are the Young Gun rookie cards. It's amazing that these non-numbered, non-autographed cards are so popular and sought after, but they are, and it's a fact: they defy the laws of collectibility.

Each year I look forward to seeing what UD comes up with in terms of Young Gun design. I've really enjoyed the look of the past few year's Young Guns - the classy curves of 08/09, the quasi-futuristic lettering of 09/10, and the western-looking 10/11 cards. This year's look... is well... it's just... it's... sort of bland. In fact, these YGs have designs that look very similar to the standard base cards. It might be that UD is trying a more uniform set this year, and that's fine, but this year's design just doesn't get me excited about them. They don't even stand out when searching through a new pack. You sort of have to keep your eyes alert because of their similarity to the base cards. I am sure that these YGs will be equally as desired and collected as ever, but this year's design leaves me wanting.

Base Card Design Score:

8.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -

This year Upper Deck has inserted a few fresh new ideas into Series 1. The first one I'd like to mention are the Hockey Heroes insert cards. For years UD has chosen a great player and dedicated a set of cards to them. It was nice, but it wasn't fun pulling them out if you weren't a fan of the player. You just end up with a bunch of the same player and you don't really know what to do with the cards.

This year UD has decided to dedicate the set to multiple heroes of the 1950's. It's a wonderful idea and let's you get a variety of players rather than just one over and over. The cards look fresh even though they feature very old photographs. If you're really lucky, you may even pull an autographed variation of one of these cards numbered to 15. There is even a triple autographed Hockey Heroes card to be found! It'll be great to see if they do a 1960's set next year or maybe even in Series 2.

Another new idea for Series 1 are the UD Canvas cards. These cards are a special set printed on textured paper - similar to that of a painting. Each card is numbered with a 'C' standing for canvas, I presume. The UD Canvas cards feature even better photography than the base cards, if you can believe that. I feel that each of these cards is a piece of work, and would look amazing together in a binder. There are both standard Canvas cards and Young Gun Canvas cards to collect.

In terms of mainstay UD Series 1 inserts, there are many. As in previous years, each hobby box of UD1 will come with 2 jersey cards on average. This year's design is a far departure from the past two year's. Instead of being very straight forward in terms of design, this year's jersey cards are full of vibrant lines and colors. So far collectors have expressed positive views of these cards. I like these cards because it's always fun to be able to pull a memorabilia card out of the boxes I buy. They can make good trade bait!

Acetate cards can again be found in this year's UD1. I was able to pull out a Clear Cut Honoured Members card of Milt Shmidt. This year's card has a unique design. The four corners are die cut in an odd shape. I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent. Do you have any ideas? These cards are numbered to 100. I wish that UD had put more color on these cards. I understand that they are representing older legendary players, but the lack of color on these cards make them look flat and unappealing.

One insert set that I feel has been on the decline are the All-World Team cards. I love the idea of the All-World Team, but last year's and this year's design fail to measure up to the 09/10 look. This year's AWT cards are pretty generic looking. The graphics on the card look dated. Not to knock on Score... but this year's All-World Team cards look like it came out of that product. It's probably time to re-boot this idea or can it for next year.

UD Series 1 has other inserts such as Signature Sensations, UD Exclusive cards, EA Ultimate Team cards, and more that can be found. Most of these cards have been a mainstay in UD1 for some time so collectors are used to these cards. They are solid inserts that will attract certainly attract player and team collectors.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -

If you're a hockey card collector you pretty much have to buy Upper Deck Series 1. UD1 is a fantastic product that you just cannot go wrong buying. Even though I had a few issues with design here and there, I would still not hesitate to buy a box of UD1 whenever I could. Getting 6 Young Gun cards per box on average is great. They make fantastic trade bait and are almost always in demand. It's fun to get jersey cards, and you always have the chance to pull a sweet autograph card as well. Boxes will run about $70 dollars with packs being about $4. Yep, the price is definitely right.

Get yourself a box now... duh!

Overall Rating:

9/10

(not an average)

Here's a box of UD Series 1 that I got at D&P Sports Cards in Sacramento, Ca.

2011-2012 Score Review

2011-11-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Low-end shmo-end! Panini brings out a solid product that any collector would have fun busting. Score comes at you with a ton of great cards and special surprises. Unlike some low-end products, this one actually gives you a chance at some pretty heavy hits. This year's Score is hard to beat at its price point!

Base Card Design -
Last year when Panini returned to the hockey card world they decided to give collectors products that felt like they did in the past. 10/11 Score had a very 90's look and feel to it. This year it seems that Panini is staying away from the retro base set feel, and giving us an attempt at a more contemporary design. The basic Score card is extremely clean and sparse. It has the most minimal pieces of information on the front - player and team with the score brand and team logo. That's it. The team's colors give the photo a nice border highlight to encase the player. I have to say that I enjoy the look of these cards. They are very bright and feature nice photos of the players. But how much do I enjoy the cards? Well, I can't say that I'm jumping out of my chair for them, but they're 'good enough'. They look nice and are pretty much what I would expect from this type of product.

The backs of the base cards give a complete career statistics of the featured player. The design of the back lends itself very well for displaying information. Impressive job Panini! If there was one thing I would add, it would be nice to have a head shot of the player. This, I believe, would really make the backs look like a full-statistical readout of the player that you might find on NHL.com or other information source. I do have to commend Panini on the write-up of the player on the backs of the cards. It's great to have a bit more than just numbers to look at. These make for a fun read and help collectors learn more about their favorite players.

Included within the base set of Score are Season Highlight, All Rookie Team, and other subset cards. The cards have a very similar design to the basic cards of the set save for a special graphic indicating the subset type. These cards point out significant players from last season, and give collectors extra opportunities to pick up cards of the players they collect. The Season Highlight cards are especially notable because they particularly point out special events that should be remembered. One of my favorites is shown above. It's Penguins Legend Mario Lemieux playing at last year's Winter Classic. Awesome!

The Hot Rookie cards are back again to fill out the rest of the set. These cards have been improved from last year's design. The cards do a nice job of making the rookies jump out at you. Notice how Cody Hodgson's image is in front of the Hot Rookies graphic. It's a nice job by the designers to do little things like that to make the cards better. I really enjoy how different these rookie cards are from the rest of the set. They certainly stand out, and I think collectors will enjoy collecting these cards.

Base Card Design Score:

8/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
In the 1990's, card collectors were crazy about insert cards. It was all the rage. Inserts cards are far less prevalent now than they were back then, but Score does a pretty good job of reaching the amount of inserts you can get within a product since way back in the day! The inserts you can find in 11/12 Score actually have their roots in the early 90's.

This Franchise insert card of Taylor Hall is a good example of a modernized 90's insert card. I remember trying to pull Franchise inserts in high school... they were tough pulls! These Franchise inserts actually probably match the same ratios as the ones in back then, but unfortunately, they don't have the same appeal or value they once carried. The same goes for the stunning looking black and white Score B inserts.

Another thowback insert card type is this die-cut NHL logo insert. It's hard to tell in the scan, but the top portion of this card is die-cut so that the NHL logo is pointy on top. I wasn't sure how these cards would turn out, but I think they actually look quite nice. The points on my Eric Staal card are razor sharp! This is definitely an interesting and fun card to pull out of a pack. I am sure younger collectors would especially appreciate a card like this one. Another die-cut card available out of score are the Snow Globe inserts. These cards come back this year with a slightly updated design.

And of course how can I not mention parallel cards when writing about Panini!?! There are gold cards like the one shown above, black bordered ones, as well as the one-per-pack glossy cards. I am very glad that this year the glossy cards have a special notation on the back that says it's the glossy version. As a collector, I like to put all my cards in penny sleeves... and it was very difficult to distinguish the glossies from the regular cards.

Though I didn't pull any in the box I opened, I know that Panini has done some sneaky things with Score. Last year there were French back versions that were rumored to be limited to 5 or 10 copies each. This year I think there might be thicker photo variations of cards inserted into Score. They might be as rare as the French backs. I'm not sure though. If anyone has specific information about this, please leave it in the comments below! I'd love to know all of Score's secrets!

And finally, I love that you can pull autographs from Score. There are rookie autographs as well as base card autographs. They are a difficult pull, but definitely worthy of a chase since they are a pretty rare find.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8.5/10

Overall Rating -
This year's Score improves upon last year's offering. I am amazed at how much value and fun Panini has packed into this product. It is a product that anyone can afford to buy, and there are amazing cards to be found within. For autograph hunters, the base cards are a superior choice to get in-person or TTM autographs. They are bright and have a great surface for autos. Collectors like me who collected in the 90's will enjoy pulling inserts and remember what it was like to chase them back then. And everyone will appreciate getting the opportunity to get a certified autograph from a pack that costs about $1. I highly recommend getting some of this product. Great start to the hockey season Panini!

Overall Rating:

9/10

(not an average)

Watch me open a box of Score!

YouTube Contest

2011-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey faithful readers! I am proud to say that I have joined in a partnership with an awesome internet site. It's Boxrippers. The guy who runs the show over there is named Tiger Lapointe, and he contacted me regarding a Logan Couture 1/1 from Dominion that one of his customers had. He found out that I super-collect Couture so he PMed me through Youtube. We were able to quickly make a deal for the card. And I got it today... tada!

Beautiful, isn't it?!

Anyways, Tiger got to see some of the stuff I've been putting out on my blog here and on Youtube and he liked what he saw. We began talking and long story short... I've partnered up with him. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but with Tiger it was a no brainer. He is easily one of the most solid and stand-up guys in the hobby.

Boxrippers is a great place to be for card collectors. They do many group breaks at prices that most can afford. They have low/mid end breaks all the way to super high-end stuff. I recently participated a mid-level break that only cost about $35 CND. Not bad! And they actually just ran a break this past weekend that had Dominion as a part of it for around the same price. Crazy.

Aside from group breaks you can trade as well as participate in contests and get free cards - and these aren't cheap-y cards either... they give away some significantly valued cards to their members. They are even going to do a free group break in December! Unbelievable, but true!

That brings me to my contest.

When I partnered up with Tiger, he sent me this card for FREE:

Didn't I say he was generous? This card books for $350 and looks spectacular in person. Anyways, I want to spread the joy around so I in turn am going to give it away for free to one of my followers here on my site and on Youtube. Of course there is A CATCH... not horrible... but still a catch. Here's what you have to do to get in on my contest:

1. JOIN BOXRIPPERS. Go to the Boxrippers site and get a free account with them. It costs nothing to do this. Just find the registration link on the forum home page:

http://forum.boxrippers.com/

2. Post a message somewhere on the forum. I highly suggest posting to the introduce yourself section of the forum. Tell a little about yourself and what you collect. And if you could, tell them that I, blacksheep217, sent you! I'd love to see that :) If you're already a member, that's ok too. Post to the traders section or hockey talk or where ever. But please, don't waste the forum's space. Post something that is meaningful and relevant. I'll be checking the post. If it's just a waste of post space I'm not going to count it!

3. Email me a link to your post. Please title your email CONTEST ENTRY and include your YOUTUBE name and BOXRIPPERS name in the email. Yep, you need to have both a Youtube name and boxrippers account to qualify. Email to:

blacksheep217@hotmail.com

To let you know you're in the contest I will post your name at the end of this entry. Check to see if you're in! If not, please PM me and let me know!

4. BONUS. If you want extra entries then participate in a group break. Boxrippers has group breaks going on all the time. I will give an extra spot in the contest for every group break you participate in. Currently there are spots filling up for 11/12 UD Series 1. You can let me know you are in a group break by emailing me the group break you are in. Tell me your Boxrippers handle and a link to the group break you're in. I'll check it and give you a bonus spot when I confirm it. Check current group breaks here:

http://forum.boxrippers.com/viewforum.php?f=33

5. Contest will end on Monday, November 21st, 2011. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!!!!

Here are the entrants so far:

1. Skroeker (BR)/ Skroeker24 (YT)
2. oilers94 (BR)/ reistv11 (YT)
3. tvtvrain (BR)/ tvtvrain (YT)
4. HCC1817 (BR)/ HCC1817 (YT)
5. hudsy23 (BR)/ THEHOCKEYCARDS (YT)
6. BTAcollectibles (BR)/ BTAcollectibles (YT)
7. Jackson88 (BR)/ JSOM8 (YT)
8. priceforthewin (BR)/ priceforthewin (YT)
9. Tokarski (BR)/ CanucksCollector (YT)
10. leafsarethebest (BR)/ leafsfan451 (YT)
11. UltimateHockeyFan (BR)/ UHF91 (YT)
12. jtgoleafs (BR)/ jtgoleafs (YT)
13. lfcmontreal (BR)/ lfcmontreal (YT)
14. mrsp0rtsfreak (BR)/ mrsp0rtsfreak (YT)
15. HabsFan771 (BR)/ HabsFan771 (YT)
16. chibhawksfan35 (BR)/ Toewscollector19 (YT)
17. gameusedguy (BR)/ 3jackjohnson3 (YT)
18. flamesguy12 (BR)/ flamescollector (YT)
19. Captain Canuck (BR)/ volleygod67 (YT)
20. capskinnercollector (BR)/ capscollector (YT)
21. nikthewerelion (BR)/ werelion (YT)
22. SlyStealth (BR)/ SlyStealth (YT)
23. Yugiohuyio (BR)/ Yugiohuyio (YT)
24. Ozzie_47 (BR)/ Roggan_47 (YT)
25. savardf (BR)/ savardf (YT)
26. HockeyCards91 (BR)/ 91HockeyCards (YT)
27. RetaiRippersYT (BR)/ RetailRippers (YT)
28. hockeyfreak313 (BR)/ kaplan397 (YT)
29. avsfan09x (BR)/ avsfan09x (YT)
30. Archaeomatt (BR)/ MrCerealJunky (YT)
31. thrashersdude (BR)/ thrashersdude (YT)
32. grandycanman14 (BR)/ grandycanman14 (YT)
33. cauccicards (BR)/ caucci13 (YT)
34. hockeyleafs100 1(BR)/ hockeyleafs100 (YT)
35. CapsCrowsOs (BR)/ CapsCrowsOs (YT)
36. Kylevdb (BR)/ Kylevdb (YT)
37. gonucksgo33 (BR)/ gonucksgo/33 (YT)
38. dscanuck (BR)/ dscanuck (YT)
39. blacksheep217fan (BR)/ gohabsgo012 (YT)
40. PriceIsRight31 (BR)/ Hockeycardfan1000 (YT)
41. Wilsonethan6 (BR)/ Wilsonethan6 (YT)
42. CalebClardy (BR)/ CaledClardy (YT)
42. warriorsmi (BR)/ warriorsmi (YT)
43. 12iginlacalgary12 (BR)/ 12iginlacalgary12 (YT)
44. Slapshot4 (BR)/ Hockeycardcollecter7 (YT)
45. MrSport4Life (BR)/ MrSport4Life (YT)

*** CONTEST IS NOW OVER***

Winner will be announced soon. Thanks to all who participated!

2011-2012 Upper Deck Parkhurst Champions Review

2011-10-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

Another early season release from Upper Deck! This time the focus is not on the current crop of NHL players... With Parkhurst Champions, Upper Deck combines bits and pieces of past products to create a set with tons of retro appeal.

Base Card Design -
The main set of Parhurst Champions comes in three forms - a basic card, wire photos, and renditions cards. The basic cards in Parhurst are numbered from 1-100 and feature legends of the NHL. You'll find players like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Basil McRae... yep... only the most household of names here! haha. Kidding aside, the players from 1-100 are great players - even though some may not be as familiar.

Upper Deck has given the base cards a fairly modern feel for such a retro themed set. Each card is full of shiny gloss and features tasteful foil touches. The cards are surrounded by a faded forest green border that reminds me a little of a fancy old mansion's furniture. I have to say that I am not a fan of the border. Tacky. Yes, tacky is the word. I think the base cards can't decide if they should be modern or retro, and end up being stuck in some sort of retro-modern middle ground. They aren't terrible, but this design just doesn't resonate with me.

The backs of the cards are simple and feature full career stats. They stick with the basics and don't add too much else. Players with stat lines that don't fill up the entire card have a short informational paragraph written about them to fill out the rest of the backside.

Following the standard base cards are the wire photo cards. These cards are inserted at a rate of about one in every five packs. In my opinion, these are the gems of the entire set. The wire photo cards are black and white photos set on an off white background. A short description in old typewriter font is below each photo. It was so exciting to pull these cards out of the packs. Unlike the standard base cards, these ones hit you hard with the nostalgic retro feelings. Upper Deck has done these RIGHT, and they are great cards to have. Absolutely perfect for a set like this.

Finishing off the main set are the Renditions cards. Both black and white as well as color versions are in the set. These cards are reminiscent of the UD Masterpieces set that was release a few years back. The cards show artistic renditions of the players. Each card I've seen has been done in an elegant way. I am surprised at how well the paintings nail specific moments or emotions. The only qualm I have with these cards are distracting extra words and logos on the card. I could do with a less cluttered front - like the wire photo cards - a more simple design would have worked better here.

Base Card Design Score:

8.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
The main draw of Parkhurst Champions are the autographs. Upper Deck provides you with an awesome opportunity to pull on card autographs of legendary NHLers. Each of the subsets (base cards, wire photos, and renditions) have autographed variations, and each type of autograph comes in a different tier of rarity. A box will yield one to two autographs. In the two boxes I have opened, one had just one auto, while the other had two.

The most basic autograph are the base card autographs. Unlike Artifacts, these cards do not feature the sticker autograph - they are on card, a huge plus for this set. The autographed base cards are very similar to the standard base card except that the foil on the front is in silver rather than gold. And the back of the card has a congratulations message instead of career stats. The base card autographs can be a little hard to see because there is not spot for the players to sign. They just sign over the base card picture in blue ink. With an already dark card, it is possible to even overlook the fact that a pack may contain an autograph. But I'm sure most savvy collectors would catch them in their packs.

Wire photo and Renditions cards can also be found autographed. Finding one of these cards in a box can be quite a challenge though. According to the ratios stated on the Parkhurst box, the best odds of a wire photo autograph is 1:500. Wow, that's pretty tough. And yes, the ratios just get higher from there. Pulling one of these cards is an awesome treat though. The autographed versions of these cards are stunning, and I am sure that collectors will clamor over these. Some wire photo autographs even feature multiple player signings - how awesome is that?!?!?!?

Mini cards make a return in Parkhurst Champions. Upper Deck has produced mini cards before in hockey as part of their Champs line. The mini cards in Parkhurst are simply designed and look good. I am not personally a big fan of mini cards only for the fact that they can be hard to store. It's a fun concept though, and collectors can have fun trying to chase down all the different variations of the minis. Minis come in all sorts of flavors - different colored backs, auto'd versions, short prints, and more.

And one last thing... the fine folk at Upper Deck have again chosen to insert redemption cards for fossil and ancient artifact cards. They are pretty tough pulls. I know that collectors have mixed feelings about these cards. They can be fun, but the argument can be made they aren't really hockey related, so they are not necessary. I'm on the fence about these cards. I guess I wouldn't mind pulling one. They are certainly unique. But I wonder why UD chose to put these cards into this particular set. I mean, what are they trying to say? NHL legends... fossils... relics... hmmmmmmmmmm. Tsk tsk UD!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

9/10

Overall Rating -
Parkhurst Champions comes at collectors with a strong showing of legendary NHL players. From a product standpoint there are some really great aspects to these cards - the foremost being that collectors can get hard signed cards of some really great players. Wire photos are also a good reason to get some of these cards for your hockey collection; they are one of my early season favorites in terms of design.

The only drawback I see in this set is the difficulty at which it is to pull the best of the best. A box will cost around $75-$90 USD, and there is a good chance that there is only one autographed card in the box. It can be very hit or miss. Pack prices are pretty low, but again, only one of those twenty packs will yield an autograph or two. Certainly a risk to weigh when buying Parkhurst Champions.

If you're into the NHL legends, I would recommend giving this product a try. Perhaps a case would be in order. For more casual collectors, buying a box or two to try out is a fun proposition that could snag you a sweet auto... or even a dinosaur bone!

Overall Rating:

8.5/10

(not an average)

Here's my box of 11/12 UD Parkhurst Champions:

2011-2012 ITG Canada Vs. The World Review

2011-10-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

This year I want to review more ITG products. ITG is a legitimate player in the hockey card world even though they don't have an official NHL license. They make great cards that are revered by some collectors. I'll be very interested to see what they've got this hockey card season!

Insert Card Design -
The Canada Vs. The World (CvW) is a product similar to their Decades 1980's release. The cards come in a box of 9 cards. There is no regular base set as all the cards are regarded as 'hits'. For the purposes of this review, I will review the non-autographed or game-used cards in this section and save the memorabilia cards for the next.

The first insert card I received in my box was from the 100 Years of Hockey Cards set. These unique cards feature painted images of great hockey players from the past century. They are made to resemble old tobacco style cards. Unlike Topps and Upper Deck mini cards, these cards are not mini sized. The cards are produced so that they are standard sized with the mini card image sitting within a baby blue border. I like this decision by ITG because having a bunch of mini cards can be a pain in terms of care and storage.

The painted image on these cards look really nice. The interpretation of the hockey sweater is especially well done. These cards have a classiness to them in their simplicity. ITG follows the old style of card information by only putting the player's first initial and last name on the card. For popular players this is not really a problem... but for the card shown above, it was difficult to know who it was that I had exactly since I am not familiar with older Russian hockey players. Luckily, I got a second card of the same player in my pack.

And here it is. Unlike the previous card, this one features a photo of the player amidst a beige-gold background. This card highlights Valeri Kharlamov and his role during the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. The card contains a nice write up of his participation in the event on the back. It's good information that's interesting since I know very little about the Summit Series. Unfortunately, though the back has great information, the front design leaves a bit more to be desired. Having the flags of the two nations is a nice touch, but the design of this card falls a bit flat and feels a bit dated. To me, graphics have a mid 90's feel/quality to it. If it were up to me (and obviously it isn't), I would have made the flag graphics quite a bit bigger, or simply used the flags as a backdrop rather than the graphics shown. I just feel that the design could have been more bold.

My third and final insert cards is of Harry Watson. Here we have a very simply designed card. My feeling is that this card, and cards of this type are to here to present information to card collectors. This card definitely increases my knowledge of hockey history by reading the back. There is a wealth of knowledge to be had simply by reading the information. I do think that from a design standpoint more could have been done to make the card more aesthetically pleasing. One simple suggestion would be to add red foil where the name is and feature the ITG logo in foil. That would definitely make for a more premium feeling card. It may be difficult for companies to add foil to card though. I've noticed that foil is not commonly used in low or mid level ITG products (and Panini for that matter). Perhaps the cost would increase too much in terms of production. Just a guess... I don't know!

Insert Card Design Score:

6.5/10

Game-Used/Autos -
Of all companies, ITG does the best job with their game-used cards. ITG does a fabulous job in giving you specific information about the piece of cloth imbedded in the card. And unlike Upper Deck or Panini, these cards do not come from events - they are from actual games that the featured player has played in. Each pack of CvW will come with 4 jersey, patch, or equipment cards.

The Angela James card shown above reminds me most of the 'standard' ITG jersey card. It has a familiar design if you buy ITG on a regular basis. This card has been upgraded from a design standpoint though. The colors chosen for it mesh very well together. Having the red and black obviously represents Canada well, but the hint of gold on right hand side really takes the card up from a design standpoint. The card is very sharp, clean, bright, and modern. Kudos to ITG for upping their design edge here.

The International Goalies jersey card above is pretty different than the Angela James card. Here the jersey cloth is in a circular cut-out, and has a very different color pallet that is appropriate for the country he represents. CvW really nails the national theme and respects each country's colors. I am sure that hockey fans all over the world would appreciate the work ITG has done to put some national pride into this card product.

This final jersey card comes from Swedish player Hakan Loob. It features a vertically oriented design that mimics the shape of a gold medal. I cannot say that I think this card is spectacular looking, but this is probably my favorite card in the pack that I bought. The card just has a certain charm to it that I find endearing. It's a fun design that shows ITG stretching its creativity, trying to come up with new things for collectors.

In terms of autographed cards, each box contains two. The autographs featured players from Canada as well as the entire world. You have the possibility of getting players that have retired, who have played for their home countries, and even current NHLers.

The Mike Green autographed card is typical of what you get in a box of CvW. I really like that again ITG has gone full bore in decking out the card with national colors. Here we see Green in his Team Canada jersey and his signature over a Canadian flag. I am not fond of the background of the card, but it gets the job done.

Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -
ITG's Canada Vs. The World is an interesting product that will give collectors a variety of content per box. It is fun to open up a box and find a wealth of international themed cards. Certainly there is star power to be found in boxes of CvW, but some collectors may not appreciate the variety as much as others. I would say that for hockey collectors that enjoy Canadian themed products, this is certainly a winner and a must have. For collectors who want rookies and other NHL stars, it would be a wise idea to wait for less specifically themed products from ITG or other card companies. Overall, CvW is a strong product out of the ITG factory. There's a concentrated shot of hits to be had at a reasonable price point. It's just up to you to see if what's inside is your cup of tea.

Overall Rating:

8.5/10

(Not an average)

Check out my box of Canada Vs. The World!

2011-2012 Upper Deck Victory Review

2011-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

It's been out for a while... sorry for the delay my faithful readers... but the review of 11/12 UD Victory is finally here!

Base Card Design -
The Victory base cards come at you with a crisp and bright design. The cards make use of the team's colors to create a graphic background. Each card has a white border that enhances the brightness of the base cards. As in previous year's Victory sets, this set gives collector's a simple and extremely basic set of hockey cards. The cards are nice in that they have a glossy and slick feel - no glitz or glam, but fun for extremely young collectors to buy and put together. They sort of remind me of modern Topps baseball cards without all the inserts - they just have that same feel to it. Too bad the base set really isn't that large. It would have been nice to have a wide player selection for this lower (heh... lowest) end set. I guess they saved all those players for O-Pee-Chee.

The backs of the cards are nicely done. They give a complete set of statistics amongst a full color backdrop. Probably my favorite thing about the Victory card backs is the little part under the player's name. Here you will find how to pronounce the player's first and last name. This is a GREAT feature for hockey cards! I wish more sets would have this handy little tool.

The Victory rookie cards fill out the end of the Victory base set. The design is slightly different than the standard base card, but doesn't stray too far from it. They share the same white border and features the team's colors in the background graphics. The word 'Rookie' is displayed above the player's name. The images of the players are more tightly cropped inward than the regular base cards. I like this look as it makes the player feel more prominent on the card. Overall though, I think the rookie cards are too similar to the standard base. They just don't have much that sets them apart from their base card brothers.

Base Card Design Score:

6.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Inserts? Yes! Game-used cards or autographed cards? No! Victory is just about as bare-bones as you can get with a release of hockey cards. There are a few inserts to chase in Victory, but the thrill of getting a player signed card or piece of memorabilia is non-existent.

I guess in order to increase the amount of 'star' players you can get in Victory, Upper Deck decided to insert Stars of the Games into packs. These insert cards have absolutely no difference in terms of feel from the base cards. There is no textural difference... no foil... no extra thickness... nothing. In fact, they share many of the same features as the standard base card. It has the same glossy finish, white border, and matching team colors in the background. I wish this was not an insert - there would be no difference in having this as a subset within the main base set. Instead, getting one of these could take the spot of a rookie card. And I'd much rather have the chance at a rookie card than one of these.

The Game Breakers insert is only slightly better than the Stars of the Game insert set. These cards feature a horizontal look, but again they just add in the opportunity to pick up extra cards of NHL stars in packs. I can't imagine anyone being too thrilled to get one of these other than a very young collector. I remember that last year's Game Breakers design was actually pretty different from the standard white bordered card. It featured a full-bleed border that made the cards stand out from all the other Victory cards. No such luck with this year's crop of Game Breakers. Unfortunate.

One major difference this with this year's Victory is the inclusion of MVP base cards and rookies. MVP was Upper Deck's low end sets when it was the only maker of hockey cards a couple years ago. MVP was a mildly collected set that offered some nicely designed cards, interesting inserts, and an opportunity to get game-used cards. MVP was taken out of the UD line up last year, but now the base cards and rookies are back as inserts in Victory. The MVP standard base cards are actually pretty good looking cards. They feature action photos of the players and a faux gold foil autograph on the front. The foil on the MVP base insert cards give the cards a great textured feel. The use of golden and black tones actually make the MVP cards feel quite a bit more premium than the Victory cards. It makes me wish UD chose to go with MVP as their low end set rather than Victory.

The best looking cards that you can get in Victory this year in my opinion are the MVP rookie cards. These cards look absolutely stunning. Having the entire card black gives the cards and aggressive feel. The gold foil and scripted name look very classy. I am absolutely loving what these cards look like, and I so wish that these cards were harder to chase so that their values would be more. These cards come about 2 per hobby Victory box. It makes me wonder if Upper Deck will release an MVP rookie of players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in a future release. I really hope so!

Lastly, Victory has 2 parallel version this year - the red and the black. Gold is out. Red bordered cards can only be found in special fat packs of Victory. They are pretty abundant and finding your favorite player should not be too difficult. I like the red border on the card; anything to take away the white border is a plus for me. And again, black bordered Victory cards are extremely rare. These cards come about one per case... good luck pulling the player you want from a pack. And yea, finding your favorite player's Victory black card on eBay can be a challenge as well.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

6/10

Overall Rating -

Upper Deck certainly takes advantage of Victory's early release. I guess people would buy Victory to get their hands on the first cards of the new hockey season, but I can't really see another reason for getting Victory. For most collectors, Victory does not offer a whole lot. A box of Victory will yield a big stack of base cards, some inserts, and some rookies. There is a chance that the rookie card you want won't even be in the box you get. I know because that happened to me with my box! &%$#@%!

My advice would be to look elsewhere for your hockey card fix. OPC is already out and that product's price point isn't too much more than this one's. Soon Panini's Score will come out, and it looks like that product (which has the same price point) will once again be head and shoulders more collectible than Victory. Sorry to say, Victory needs to be re-booted and re-tooled if UD releases it again next year.

Overall Rating:

3/10

(Not an average)

2011-2012 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Review

2011-10-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

One of the largest sets of the year has been released - it's O-Pee-Chee hockey! Is bigger better? What can collectors find in this massive release?

Base Card Design -
This year's OPC base card is very pleasant to look it. There does seem to be a lot going on at first glance, but the elements of the card work together so well that the card doesn't seem busy or overcrowded. And I really like the baby blue border. This light shade of blue softens up the card and helps impart a retro feel. Though this card is definitely modern in design, the blue reminds me of vintage sets that used softer color pallets. Upper Deck is obviously going for a retro feel with this brand, and they design geniuses over there were able to put that hint of vintage into these slick base cards. The front of the cards have all the basic informational needs presented in a clean way. The OPC brand is featured prominently above the player's name as well as in a slanted bar across the bottom of the card. I love that slanted bar for some reason! Very cool. The photos are passable, but are not nearly as spectacular as those found in Upper Deck Series 1.

The backs of the OPC base cards are plain, but feature the required amount of statistical information. Unlike many modern base cards, these do not feature any color or photos. They share design elements more in common with their 1980's OPC brethren. I do wish, however, that there was at least a little paragraph written about the player on the back. This would have been a very time consuming undertaking for a set this size, but I think it would have been nice - especially for younger collectors who might take the time to examine their cards closely.

Similarly to Artifacts this year, OPC has subsets within the base set that feature the same design with a different color scheme. The Marquee Legend subset features stars from the NHL's past. The design is actually a vertical reverse of the standard base card. Interesting. But the color choice and logo just don't do it for me. These cards seem a bit uninspired and boring. The backs of the cards display the full statistical information of the player's career and look pretty much identical to the backs of the base cards.

The rookies share the same design as the Marquee Legends but have a livelier green color highlighting the cards. The look is slightly better, but the overall design is still weak. OPC rookie cards have never featured stellar designs, and the trend continues here. The backs of the rookie cards are well done though. The draft information about each rookie is prominently featured and there is a short write up about the player in both French and English. Nice!

Base Card Design Score:

7.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
OPC is a product that features the chance at getting autographed cards, game-used memorabilia cards, as well as a variety of inserts at a very nice price point.

One of the inserts this year is interesting because it is an extension of last year's set. Last year Upper Deck was going to produce a stand alone update set featuring rookies that did not make it into 10/11 OPC. That set got cancelled. Instead, you can find those cards here in these packs This is great for collector's who want as complete a set that you can get to add on to their set from last year. Interestingly enough, you can also find the retro design from last year of these players as well. I was surprised to pull one of last year's retro designs in my box.

Speaking of retro cards. The retro parallel set is back... and it looks great! These cards are extremely retro in design - they sort of look like old playing cards. I have already heard collectors saying how much they enjoy the retro design this year. The retro cards feature a simple star background with a black and white photo of the player on the front. You will find the player's first initial and last name only on the front with no other information. The backs are very sparse as well. Very little information to be had there. And if you're lucky, you may even get a blank back card - a card with literally no information or anything on the back. The blank back cards provide a very challenging chase for collectors. Upper Deck did not officially announce the blank back cards... but they are there!

As they did last year, Upper Deck also inserted foil parallel cards of the base set into packs. There are both non-numbered and black bordered (#'d to 100) versions of these cards. It's a nice looking rainbow foil. These cards are not worth a huge amount of money, but can be easily collected and enjoyed by player collectors.

One of the nicest insert sets to come out of OPC this year are their In Action cards. These are released annually, but are always good looking cards. These cards feature the same foil as the foil parallels but with a different design. The yellow border of these cards is particularly eye catching. These cards come about one per box. There are short printed versions of these cards that come about one in ten boxes. The other inserts found in OPC come on standard card stock and feature things like team leaders and trophy winners.

Lastly, there is a chance to pull game-used as well as autographed cards from OPC boxes. They are very difficult though. Looking at the odds on the back of the packs shows you that you have to be extremely lucky to get one from a pack. The autographs and memorabilia cards are nicely designed - they are neat and clean. Getting a memorabilia or autograph card from a product like OPC is especially exciting because of these difficult odds.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -
At around or under $60 a box, O-Pee-Chee is a wonderful product to crack open. It's one of the few products now that give the the opportunity to open a lot of packs out of a box - so many boxes now feature only a few packs within. I found it fun to see all the retro cards and pull foil parallels from the packs. It's definitely a product that can surprise you too. There are fun things to find such as blank backs and tough autographs. This is a product that collectors of all ages can enjoy. I would not hesitate to recommend this year's OPC for purchase. A very solid product this time around!

Overall Rating:

8.5/10

(not an average)

Watch me open up a box of 11/12 O-Pee-Chee Hockey!

2011-2012 Upper Deck Artifacts Review

2011-09-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

Just done with 10/11 cards and 11/12 cards have already come out! There is no 'summer break' for hockey cards that's for sure. Victory from Upper Deck has already been out for a while, but I haven't gotten my hands on any to review yet - when I do I'll post up a review. For now, we're going to start off 11/12 with Artifacts!

Base Card Design -
Artifacts comes at us once again with a classy base card design. Instead of the lofty clouds we had last year, we now have a more serious looking geometric background. The stark tones Upper Deck uses gives the base cards a mature look. In the 10/11 set, Upper Deck decided to vary the backgrounds between blue and yellow clouds - it made the set feel a little disjointed. That doesn't happen this year. In fact, these cards remind me a little of 10/11 Ultimate base cards in their classiness.

The usage of foil on the front of the card is just about perfect. The brand name, team logo, and sides of the card feature the perfect amount of foil to make the cards look nice. My only quibble about the foil is that the player's position and team name are etched into the side foil panels, which can be a bit difficult to see.

The backs of the cards are also well done. There is a wealth of stats as well as a short write up of accomplishments. It's nice to see that the pictures used on the backs are different than the ones on the front. It's a slight detail, but it speaks volumes about the attention to quality and care in terms of design.

Among the main set of artifacts are Legend, Star, and rookie cards. All three designs are almost identical save for the shading and color pallet. The example of P.K. Subban above is a limited Star subset card. It is limited to 999 copies. For some reason this card reminds me of 90's decor. The design just makes me think of something that I would see hanging in an office somewhere above a plastic potted plant. It is a cookie cutter design that just doesn't look very good. Can you tell that I am not a fan of this design? These cards actually are similar to Star subset cards found in Artifacts prior to 10/11. And I was not a fan of those either. They cheapen the look of Artifacts. I hope next year UD designers look revamp these cards or change them to something entirely different.

The Rookie and Legends subsets' color scheme actually makes the cards look better than that of the Stars subset. It still has that office well-hang look, but it's more subtle... thankfully.

Overall the main Artifacts set is a tale of two opposites - great looking base cards and questionably executed limited subsets.

Base Card Design Score:

8/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Artifacts boxes come with 3 memorabilia cards loaded within. At least one will feature two or three players. This year, the Tundra Tandems and Tundra Trios return with an updated look that is very different than last year. One of the main problems last year was the difficulty in seeing the player and player names on the card. This is not a problem this year.

The Tundra cards get a very bright make-over. The primary colors of white and blue give each card clarity. It is very easy to see the images of the players as well as their names. As clean as these cards are though, I would have liked to see a bit more glitz put on these cards. The base cards have more foil than these guys! As they are, the Tundra cards really have to rely on the quality of memorabilia on it to stand out. While there are some really nice swatches, the majority of these cards will just feature single color pieces. That's why it would have been nice to dress the card up a bit more.

Base cards also get the jersey and patch treatment... and more. There are multiple versions of the base cards. Some feature just an autograph, some feature just jerseys, while others will have combinations of different things on them - even laundry tags! There is a vast array of base card variations. To get a handle on what is available, I would advise checking out Upper Deck's checklist for Artifacts so you know what to chase. This will be especially important for collectors who only collect certain players. Look carefully!

The main source of autographed cards in Artifacts will be from the popular Autofacts set. I disliked last years design initially - but it grew on me. This year's design is an immediate winner. Like the Tundra Tandems, these cards have brightened up since we saw them last. I love the large photo of the player displayed prominently in the center of the card. It's also great that these cards have similar color choices to each other. It really ties the whole set together well. Now, the autographs found in Artifacts are sticker autos, but here on the Autofacts insert set, it looks properly done. This set will be a nice one to put together.

Because Artifacts comes out before the first official 10/11 NHL game is played, Upper Deck has included redemption cards for the rookies. I am usually pretty disappointed whenever I pull a redemption card from a pack, but these are different. They are not put into the product because an athlete failed to get their autographs sent into the company on time. These are more like reservation cards for the new rookie crop purposefully done so that the Artifacts set can truly have all the rookie cards it should have in the set. And actually, this year's redemption design is quite nice too, it has sort of a retro look to it. Besides these regular rookie redemptions, there are also special autographed rookie redemption cards limited to just 99 copies each. This is a new twist that that I think is a great idea. Artifacts rookies have never been a huge draw, but this might spice things up a bit.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

8/10

Overall Rating -
Artifacts is a great first product to buy this 2011-2012 season. It contains three hits and an autograph per box. And boxes are reasonably priced. It's a fun break, especially if you manage to pull out a really nice patch or two... or even three! Artifacts comes at you this year with a strong base card design and clean memorabilia/autographed cards. It's a solid buy, and I would not hesitate to purchase multiple boxes of Artifacts this year. It'll be interesting to see how Artifacts stands up to everything else that is forthcoming. Last year, I ranked Artifacts the third best product of the year. It'll be tough to hold onto that title. Does Artifacts have it in it to stand the test of time this year? We will see. But for now, have fun busting into your box!

Overall Rating:

8.5/10

(not an average)

See me open a box of 11/12 Artifacts at D&P Sportscards in Sacramento, CA!

Hockey Card Rankings #1 and 2

2011-09-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

THIS IS IT. It comes down to a showdown between the best that Panini and Upper Deck have to offer hockey card collectors. Many have wondered if the new kid on the block could dethrone the current king...

...it was an tough battle, and the freshman made a valiant effort, but in the end the veteran holds the title of BEST HOCKEY CARD PRODUCT OF THE YEAR!

#2 Dominion.

+ Dominion is a very refreshing entry into the ultra high-endhockey card world. The cards arecleanly designed and look great. Panini gives collectors generous amounts of jerseys and patch swatcheson these bad boys. Some of thepatches that I have seen are absolutely stunning. Panini truly did save their best memorabilia pieces for thisproduct. There is a wide selectionof players to be collected – many of which are new to the high-end market. Booklet cards featuring up to 8 playersare quite a find. Oh, and the boxit comes in is very classy! For a one pack super high-end product, it feelslike you get a ton of cards per box – I guess you could say it’s a goodvalue! (The previous statement isa joke, if you didn’t get it, sorry!)

- There are a few too many plain jersey cards and parallelcards in the set. Some of thesubsets have names that are silly. Price is out of this world for most collectors.

Final Comments: I’m glad Panini has their own ultra high-endproduct. It brings new life to thehobby and makes things very interesting. Dominion really surprised me this year. I didn’t know what to expect of it, but I can say withconfidence that it beat all initial expectations I had of it. There is a little tidying up to do withthis product. Panini shouldaddress parallels and plain jersey cards, but Panini really only has toimplement a few tweaks to improve upon this already great product. If Panini takes a delicate approach toimproving their top product it may soon be number one!

#1 The Cup.

+ High-end collectors LOVE The Cup. Hands down it is in a league of itsown. Upper Deck’s top product hassteamrolled along ever since it burst into the hobby world with its 05/06release. It is a trusted brand thatholds the most desired rookie cards of the year. Opening a tin of The Cup is an experience I wish all couldsavor. There isn’t anything elsethat gives so much anticipation. The Cup is loaded with high dollar cards and superstar players. Upper Deck always chooses only the bestto put in The Cup, and within in it you may find exclusive legends like TheGreat One and Bobby Orr. Everything about The Cup screams premium and best of the best. Even the base cards are like bricks! This is a magnificent set to behold andis what all collectors clamor for.

- Hitting a bad tin of The Cup can make you cry. The price of the cup is out of thisgalaxy for most collectors.

Final Comments: Last year’s Cup designs focused more onsimplicity. It was a differentfeel for The Cup and I wondered if Upper Deck was going to continue on thatpath. They didn’t. I don’t know if it would have been bador not… but the creative geniuses at UD decided to take The Cup back in aclassy, regal design – more akin to pre 09/10 designs. It worked out great. The Cup shows that it is the BOSS ofall hockey cards. The set feelsepic. It IS epic. And collectors have shown this to betrue because people are still cracking tins of The Cup. Momentum has not slowed down even withcompetition. It’s incredible tosee just how respected The Cup is. Even non-hockey card collectors stop and gawk when a tin is opened. Just amazing.

Thank you for reading my hockey card rankings. I hope you enjoyed it! It was fun to recall all that Panini and Upper Deck brought us this past year. I really appreciate both companies efforts in giving us these products that we enjoy so much. My hats off to both companies. I look forward to the new season of cards. Victory is already out (I'll review it once I get my hands on some) and Artifacts will be releasing shortly. I have a box incoming so be on the look out for my review of that in a few days.

To end, I would like to post some comments from normal hockey card collectors. I asked collectors on Youtube to tell me what their favorite and least favorite hockey card products were this year. The collectors have truly spoken! Thanks to all who chimed in with an opinion. Below are the actual comments and Youtube handles.

my favourite set from this year would have to be sp authentic i just love the future watch autos and all the nice patches my least favourite would have to be contenders for the price point getting four autos is nice yes but not when there all unknown rookies (thats what i got in my box) - MrSp0rtsfreak

my favourite set is o pee chee because its fun to try to get all the cards since theres over 600 in the base set! my least favourite is donruss because its kinda hard to complete that base set because of ALL the doubles that you get in the breaks. - flyers1220cp

My favourite 10-11 hockey set is Sp Authentic because all the autos are on card and my least favourite product is 10-11 Donruss because the cards look to plain and the cards dont have too much value. - HCC1817

I think the pinnicle set was my favourite, because i really liked the photos and cool jerseys. I hated the score set, it was overpriced, had no jerseys, and bad photography. - CanucksCollector

SP Authentic is the best because they have on card autos and the price point is very nice for many people. Zenith is the worst because the cards are plain and there are too many plain jersey cards. Only positive is the Dare to Tear. - warriorsmi

Favorite set is artifacts love the patches they put very nice ones! also like how they sepratley made the base 1 type eastern and 1 type western just very nice cards as usual. worst is Black Diamond, too many paralells hate the singles doubles triples just too much of a bother - leafsfan451

My favorite set from this year is Between the Pipes. Clean base, likeable insert sets, a great variety of game used cards and a large group of autograph cards. My least favorite was Contenders. As a competitor to SP Authentic, it did not have real "gigantic hit" potential like SP Authentic did. As with panini products, there was a good amount of parallels and some iffy coalation of cases. - hockeyrocks8477

Personally, I was a HUGE fan of Crown Royale. The stuff has great looking base cards and really delivered in quality. Not to mention the Rookie Silhouettes are gorgeous! I would say I didn't like Zenith that much. I thought the Daret to Tear was the only good promotion for the product. - gkolodziej1108

My fave set would have to be Pinnacle! I've had such good luck with it.. and the price is decent for the hits you get. Also my least fave is SP Authentic.. It's a nice set.. but you get so many base packs. - JaredCowenFan

i think my favourite set this year was the artifacts set it basically always gives your money back and the cards have fabulous designs not to mention the great black autos /5 and all the rainbows you can complete. but i think my worst favourite card set this year was pinnacle although alot of people liked the cards and the designs i found that the designs of the card was dull i also found that there was no big chaser cards! unlike artifacts that is my favourite and least favourite sets!! - lolskateboarder

My product that i hate the most this year was opechee! SERIOUS UPPER DECK? opechee haha it's one of the worst products out there, you barely get anything and the cards arent worth a lot! :)
My favourite set/product for this year would have to be Artifacts, Why? good question because the base sets looked sick! it was very smart of ud to have different colours for eastern conference and western conference. Also you are guaranteed something in a box, there is no miss! you are guaranteed something in a pack, it is such a great product to buy single packs and boxes. Also for the price of a box it's worth it! - MrSport4life

I loved Pinnacle this year because the blasters had a guarantee jersey which was decent for your money. As well, the hobby boxes had around 3 jerseys and 1 auto, plus a nice amount of rookies that sell pretty well if you hit someone good. I didn't like Victory because it's always the same low end product with not a whole lot of value. - UHF91

There are MANY more comments. If you would like to see all of the comments (I'm looking at you UD and Panini!) or post your own, click HERE.

2010-2011 Hockey Card Rankings #3-4

2011-09-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Products ranked three and four are stellar offerings from both Panini and Upper Deck. Each of them, coincidentally, come in 10-pack hobby boxes. Both offer a wide array of desirable hits, and both of them are great fun to bust open. One gets the edge because it has a more favorable price point. But really, they are both neck and neck. Here they are!

#4 Certified.

+ This first release from Panini really set expectations high for all their subsequent sets. Certified has a premium feel to it, and there are plenty of hits to be found within each box. Collectors have enjoyed chasing the numerous variations of cards, as well as the plentiful game used and autographed cards found within. Certified came out very early on in the collecting season, but still managed to have autographed rookie cards of the most desired players – that was impressive. Certified gives a very satisfying box breaking experience and has cards that still hold up in value and desirability today.

- The base set is difficult to collect. I have heard stories of people missing a handful of base cards while others had multiple copies of those same cards. Collation seemed to be an issue with Certified. Box prices have risen to a point that makes me hesitant to purchase it.

Final Comments: Certified delivers in a big way. The cards are designed well and there are plenty of things for everyone to chase in it. The high-end feel of this product doesn’t come at a super high-end price, though prices for it have certainly risen since it first rolled into stores. I really enjoyed cracking into Certified this year. This brand has gotten off to a strong start that I’m sure can continue for years to come.

#3 Artifacts.

+ Artifacts breaks top 3 products in my opinion because it is such a fun box break at a very good price. Weighing in at under $90, you get 10 packs with something in each pack. The best aspect of Artifacts are the game-used cards. Landing a dual or triple memorabilia card is not too difficult. And there are some really amazing patch cards in the product to make it worthwhile. Though not a high end product, the base cards feel premium and are elegantly designed. The rookie redemption card makes for a little excitement, and the autographs are really just icing on the cake.

- The design of the dual and triple memorabilia cards featuring multiple players could use an overhaul. The color schemes make it difficult tell who they are, and the names on these cards are difficult to read.

Final Comments: You definitely get a little bit of everything when buying Artifacts. I would not hesitate to say that Artifacts gives you a great bang for the buck. You get memorabilia, autos, redemption cards (and these are not the ones they put in because the athlete didn’t sign in time), low serial numbered cards, and great looking base cards all in one 10-pack box. When collectors ask me for something affordable but nice I always turn them to this year’s Artifacts. Great job on this product Upper Deck!

Tomorrow we'll see the top 2 products of the year! Who do you think will be the card king?

2010-2011 Hockey Card Rankings #5-9

2011-09-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are creeping closer and closer to the reveal of the best hockey products of the year! These next products are all worthy of purchase, each have strong qualities that make them unique and collectible. Without further ado, here are the card sets ranked five through nine. Is your favorite set here? Or is it still upcoming in the final four?

#9 Playoff Contenders.

+ On card rookie autographs are the strong suit of Playoff Contenders. Four autographs come per box. There are a variety of insert sets to be found in Contenders this year – all either have a nice foil treatment or some other type of special textured enhancement. Collectors can chase the elusive Golden Tickets made of real gold this year. Boxes can be found for under $100 which gives it a very nice price point for a mid-range product.

- Rookie card autographs are not numbered, but limited. It can be hard for collectors to figure out if they have a short printed rookie or not. Different print runs make the values of rookies artificially higher or lower regardless of the rookie’s talent or hobby status. Some cards look like they were created for autographs, but don’t have them. There are no memorabilia cards in the product at all.

Final Comments: Contenders had a strong showing this year. This popular brand made a nice splash with its hard signed rookies, mysterious print runs, and golden ticket allure. Many collectors embraced Contenders and have enjoyed collecting it. At its price, it is a good buy and a fun product to open up. Contenders is best suited to match up with Upper Deck’s SP Authentic set, but it still has a way to go in order to match that set’s popularity amongst collectors. It’s off to a good start.

#8 SP Authentic.

+ SPA has always been a stable product and it continues on this year without fail. The Future Watch autograph cards feature on card autographs and are one of the three most wanted rookie cards of the rookie class. The design is clean and simple with limited patch cards thrown into the mix. There are many autograph themed inserts that provide collectors with an opportunity to get stars like Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and Gordie Howe. The best of the autographed cards come with multiple autographs.

- Purchasing boxes of SPA can be very hit or miss. It is a terrible feeling to spend $100 on a box to get three no-name rookies or a few low end Sign of the Times autos. There are also way too many base cards in the set. People who purchase boxes want the autographs; collectors end up having a huge amount of base sitting around. They are nice looking cards, but there’s just too much of it! It seems like a waste.

Final Comments: SPA is always strong brand that I would not hesitate to purchase. Yes, it can be a big miss, but the set is filled with desirable cards that will retain a solid value. The cards are elegantly made and look great. I feel that SPA is a product that has had slight improvement in design and execution every year it has been out – and that’s what’s keeping collectors glued to this product. SPA is a solid pick to collect. Buy multiple boxes and collect the set!

#7 Crown Royale.

+ This is probably the most eccentric and charming set of the year. The base cards are nicely done and stand out. Collectors are still trying to complete base sets of this product. Rookie cards are hard signed and the Silhouette rookies might be the most desired rookie cards of the year. Other inserts sets due hold collector’s interest as well, notably the Scratching the Surface autographs.

- The box price of Crown Royale has gone through the roof. There are nice memorabilia cards and autographs to get, but boxes yielding the vaunted Silhouette rookies (which are probably the main force contributing to the rise in price) are few and far between. Lots of plain single jersey swatches.

Final Comments: I am a big fan of Crown Royale. It’s one of the most intriguing sets to come out in 10/11. The royally themed insert sets are great. Everything is just so over the top! Unfortunately… so is the current price. I wish I had picked some up earlier. Panini has a very nice brand here and I look for them to improve upon it next season.

#6 Ultimate Collection.

+ This year’s Ultimate Collection has improved designs on just about every one of their card types. The cards are very modern looking – from the base to their most difficult to pull inserts. The jumbo patch cards feature some stunning and down right nasty looking pieces. Ultimate Signatures are very well done and would be a superb set to try and put together.

- Most people understand that this product is extremely hit or miss. A case contains 15 boxes so pulling the best cards from one by buying just single boxes is a quite a task. Because of so few cards per pack, the fun of opening one is over pretty quickly. This product comes right before The Cup. It’s a nice lead up, but is quickly forgotten about once its bigger brother comes out.

Final Comments: Ultimate Collection stays classy and features some beautiful cards this year. Box prices for this product tend to stay where they were when the product was first released, so it can be hard justifying the purchase of it after the excitement and newness of it are gone. Still, it’s a proven brand with a good track record. Single cards from this set are typically still sought after even when new releases are out. It’s a worthy purchase if you know the risks going in.

#5 UD Series 1 and 2.

+ Probably the most stable and solid set of hockey cards ever. The cards look great and feature top notch photos. The Young Gun rookie cards always hold up in value and are a hot item to chase. At a very nice price point you have the opportunity to get autographs, jersey cards, and even patch cards. The retro set parallel cards were a big hit with collectors.

- The retro cards bring nostalgia to the table, but I don’t remember the cards being so thin. It would have been really nice to have the retro cards feel exactly like what they did in the early 90s. As they are now, the cards are extremely flimsy and cheap feeling. The same old insert sets are back again this year and seem a bit stale. Jersey pieces on the jersey cards feel small and the design of them feel phoned in. Upper Deck series 2 hobby boxes are EXPENSIVE!

Final Comments: You can always count on Upper Deck Series 1 and 2 to be a solid product. It has a great price and is a product that you can open up at any time of the year with equal excitement. I would still be happy to open up a box to see what Young Guns were hidden inside today. This is a product that every collector can afford and is a must buy!

2010-2011 Hockey Card Rankings #10-14

2011-09-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

This next group of products are the card sets ranked ten through fourteen. Some of the products in this grouping started off at too high a price point, but have settled to levels appropriate for what they give out. Do you agree with where these products fall?

#14 Limited.

+ It was nice to have a higher end product come out earlier on in the hockey season. Since there was no UD Black in 10/11, this was pretty much it in terms of higher end early season product. Limited provided a chance to get some very low numbered cards as well as premium memorabilia pieces such as whole Reebok logos on cards. You could also get a variety of autographed and memorabilia cards of rookies, current players, and retired players.

- Looking back at Limited, the product feels like it wasn’t worth the price tag. The card stock is thin for a premium card - I actually feel like the Certified base cards were better executed than the base of Limited. Also, many of the jerseys and autographs were just stuck onto the front of base cards. It didn’t look good and collectors have not shown much interest in collecting them.

Final Comments: At the time Limited seemed pretty strong – but that was because there was nothing else to compare it to. Now that products like Ultimate Collection (probably it’s closest comparable product) and Luxury Suite are out, Limited just doesn’t feel like it measures up. At this point I would go for the later season releases over this. Panini was smart to release it when they did. If they do the same thing in 11/12 they should be ok.

#13 SP Game-Used.

+ Getting a jersey card in each pack as a bare minimum is a nice feature to have. The jersey cards and insert sets are very cleanly designed and attractive. Putting together words using their letterman cards is fun to do and a challenge for collectors.

- SPGU’s concept of one jersey per pack comes at too high a price. Jersey cards are not worth what they used to be and purchasing a pack at about $50 is just too much. Most packs will scarcely give you back $5 in return. The rookie cards that come in SPGU, though limited, are not attractively designed and their selling price reflects this. Collectors are cold towards these rookie cards.

Final Comments: SPGU is simply too risky a product to purchase for the price by the pack or by the box. This product would be much better at the $125/box range, but most sellers have it between $150-200. The letterman cards are fun, but the fact that they are manufactured and not ‘game-used’ detracts from them. SPGU’s main attraction is supposed to be its memorabilia cards. Unfortunately, collectors are cooling towards this kind of card unless it has a great patch or is with an autograph. SPGU’s abundance of plain jersey cards is getting old… and fast. This brand needs an image change STAT!

#12 Luxury Suite.

+ There are multiple hits per pack – all with serial numbering. The cards are thick and cleanly designed. Many of the stick piece cards look fantastic. Autographs are on card. The price of this product has drastically fallen.

- There are no base cards in Luxury Suite. Panini attempts to give collectors only hits and rookie cards. There are many rookies in this release – most of whom are not collectible, nor will they ever be. Regular jersey cards do not hold much value and multiple memorabilia card swatches are very small.

Final Comments: Initially I would have ranked Luxury Suite much, much lower. This product came with such high expectations, but fell from collector’s good graces because of it’s price point. At its current available price, Luxury Suite is a very nice product with a good potential for nice hits. There are limited rookie cards and some very nice memorabilia available. I’d jump on it getting some now.

#11 Zenith.

+ The Dare to Tear cards are great fun. It’s what makes opening Zenith exciting. You are able to get National Treasure auto rookie cards as well as Elite auto rookie cards within the large tear-able cards. On card rookie autographed cards are a very nice draw for this product. The nufex enhanced insert cards look nice and some of the legend cards within the base set have interesting pictures (like Cam Neely as a Canuck).

- The Winter Warriors jersey insert is one of the ugliest and boring designs I have seen all year. Mosaics jersey cards that carry only 1 or 2 jersey pieces when there are three total players on the card look ridiculous. The base card set is very plain and boring. Non-autographed rookie cards are hard to distinguish from the base set. They are easily passed over if flipping quickly through the cards.

Final Comments: I feel the same way about Zenith as I do about Luxury Suite. It had high expectations then came out at a price that was too high for what you got. Now that current box prices have fallen, I feel it is a product worth purchasing – especially in trying to get a good card out of a Dare to Tear jumbo card. If you get something good out of it, the rest of the box is like icing on a cake!

#10 SPx.

+ SPx surprises collectors this year with a distinctly modern design. The base cards are classy and the rookie cards are bright and vibrant. The rookie autographed with jersey cards are particularly good looking cards, as are the flashback fabrics. Each insert that can be obtained in SPx this year has a superior design – from their Spx Finite Rookies to the amazing looking Shadowbox cards. This set really stepped it up from the previous year’s offering and comes at an appropriate price point.

- SPx rookie cards will never be the most desired rookie card to get. They fall in the middle of the pack even though this year’s look so nice. Individually the base cards are nice looking, but all together – particularly in a binder – they all look completely the same and are, quite frankly, boring.

Final Comments: This year’s SPx offering gives collector’s a strong value and some great looking cards. There is a nice assortment of autographs, jersey cards, patch cards, and the stunning Shadowbox insert set. The price of this product has remained stable since it came out. It’s not a product to heavily invest in, but does give fairly strong value per box and is a solid choice to pick up in its price range. UD has found a nice formula and design this year. Let’s see them continue to improve this product.

2010-2011 Hockey Card Rankings #15-20

2011-09-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

With Panini's Dominion coming out last week, all 2010-11 NHL hockey card releases from Upper Deck and Panini are live. Starting today, I will be posting my rankings for 20 NHL hockey card products produced this year. We'll start with number twenty and work our way up to number one. We'll find out which hockey product is king! Feel free to disagree with me or give your own opinions on the matter... that's all part of the fun! Each product will have positive aspects as well as negatives. I will also provide opinion on what I think should happen with future releases of each product. Here we go, starting with number 20...

#20 Victory.

+ A nice set for kids at the beginning of the year. Very clean design. Victory black and red parallel cards are a nice chase item for player collectors. Victory black cards are especially collectible because this product is not seriously broken by many.

- Nothing to really chase for adult collectors. Buying boxes to try and get a black parallel is a waste of money and will give you an endless amount of cards you’ll never move. Hopefully player collectors will find the reds and blacks they want on eBay.

Final Comments: Victory needs to take a page from Score and at least put some type of interesting chase card into these packs. Just because they are geared for young collectors doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any kind of hit at all in the product. I bet kids would love to be able to pull an auto or memorabilia card from this type of product. It would make their day – especially if this is the only thing they can afford on an allowance. If you only have a little to spend on cards – go for Score. And too bad Victory already came out for 10/11… there is not much change unfortunately.

#19 Donruss.

+ Donruss is a product that is easily attainable for most collectors. There are plenty of jersey and autographed cards to be had here. Some of the insert cards in this set have interesting textures that make for a unique collectible (Les Gardiens and Ice Kings).

- Getting anything spectacular (though possible) is pretty difficult from Donruss, even from a hobby box. There are a ton of players in the Boys of Winter set, most of which are not highly collected. The designs of the Donruss cards, particularly in the base set, are not appealing. Rated Rookies should have been able to compete with Young Guns, but they fall flat and are unremarkable. Price point is similar to UD Series 1 and 2, but cards do not have the same quality.

Final Comments: Donruss needs to go back to its retro roots. When I say retro I don’t mean the 90s or early 2000s. It should take a cue from their recent basketball release and have some really retro designs – like their old baseball sets in the 80s. Donruss is a great name and I really hope that in the future Panini can use this as a platform for one of their ‘retro’ themed sets. I would not spend any more money on this product since there are comparable products at the same price that are so much better.

#18 Score.

+Awesome price point with a variety of inserts for every level of collector. Whenever you buy a pack, blaster, or box of Score, you can always hope that there is something amazing in the pack. Of course, more often than not there won’t be… but there is that hope! And that hope doesn’t set you back too much either. It’s great to have the opportunity to pull out short printed rookies, autographed cards, and extremely rare French backed parallel cards. Score also has a nice 90s retro design that gives recalls fond memories from collectors.

- The glossy parallel cards are extremely difficult to tell apart from a regular base card. I mixed up the cards once and gave up trying to sort the two types of cards out. If you do end up buying a lot of this product, it can get very repetitive looking at a sea of base cards.

Final Comments: I would still buy Score right now in stores. It’s a solid product that can yield some fun surprises. Panini does not have to make any sweeping changes to this product. A few tweaks and changes to keep things fresh for next year is all that it requires. Score is a winner!

#17 O-Pee-Chee.

+ OPC is a solid buy at its price point. There are a variety of parallel cards that are collectible but not insanely difficult to pull. Blank backs can be slightly hard to track down, but definitely easier to find than Score French backs. The base set is very large and comprehensive. Rookies are attainable and hits are limited but not impossible to get. The retro parallel cards are fun to collect.

- OPC does not have a huge WOW factor going for it. I blame that on it’s lackluster base design. The grey colored cards are not appealing. Though it’s a challenge to make the entire set, its just not nice enough to go for.

Final Comments: OPC is a product that I do not buy a lot of. If I saw it in a store I’d probably pick some up because I simply don’t have much of it and the possibility of getting something is there. Upper Deck should take advantage of the OPC legacy and really take the retro theme and kick it into high gear with this brand.

#16 Pinnacle.

+ Pinnacle has some really cool and wacky photos on the cards. It’s fun just to look through the base set. Nufex cards were nice to see back on cards. The City Lights insert set was clean and meaningful – I always love it when card companies feature the team’s city on the card.

- The quality of the Pinnacle cards were too similar to Donruss. It was just a hair better in my opinion. Though nice, the City Lights checklist was enormous – just like the Boys of Winter in Donruss. It was difficult to pull players of significance or that you wanted. Pinnacle Pantheon cards were very difficult to get (one per case), but collectors have not embraced them as must have collectible cards – probably because of their design.

Final Comments: More was expected from Pinnacle than was delivered. It’s a fun product to bust and the price point is decent – but it’s too similar to Donruss in many aspects. In the future, I hope that Pinnacle embraces a more premium feel. The sell sheet for next year’s Pinnacle is already out and they have another non-memorabilia case hit card. I would love to see some success in the realm of collector’s interest with them. They look great on paper – but only time will tell if they are what we want.

#15 Black Diamond.

+ The base cards are always nice to look at – nothing else looks like a Black Diamond card. Very pretty. The Hardware Heroes and Team Canada die cut insert sets are very well done. Being able to pull a pack of Ice with an Ice Premier card is a nice draw. This is the only way you can get an Ice ‘rookie’ of PK Subban, Tyler Seguin, or Taylor Hall.

- The autograph and jersey cards in Black Diamond seem like an afterthought in the product. Both have mediocre designs that look like they came from 10 years ago. The diamond tiering system seems a little dated.

Final Comments: Black Diamond is a solid product that has worked for Upper Deck for many years. I’d appreciate a little more change in Black Diamond to get the interest level back up for it. This product definitely has the most desirability in terms of its Ice pack box topper. I would still buy it for that reason alone and have all the other cards in the box as a nice little extra.

Check back soon for the rest of the rankings!

2010-2011 Panini Dominion Review

2011-09-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

The very last set of the 10-11 hockey card season was released by Panini this past week... Is this the product of the year? Or does The Cup from Upper Deck still reign supreme?

Base Card Design -

All year long I have been wanting Panini to come out with a premium feeling base card, and this was their last chance to give me one. Well, in short... they delivered! At first I wasn't sure what to make of the cards as I saw people opening them up in video box breaks and scans. The cards had a nice design, but viewing them through the a monitor does not do them justice. These base cards have a very bright and modern look to them highlighted by excellent usage of foil to add a premium touch. The brightness of the card and the shimmer of the foil they use just doesn't show up unless you see them live in your hand.

Panini employs a horizontal design for their common base card set. The players are featured on the right hand side of the card on top of a marbled looking white background. The player pictures really stand out prominently here. On the other side of the card is a place for the card's information. Here you will find the player's position, team, name, as well as the Dominion logo. Everything about this card is executed beautifully. Panini did not skimp on the usage of foil, but did not add so much that it lacked taste. The designers have really struck up a well balanced card. I enjoy looking at the base cards and admiring how cool they are!

Each base card is produced on premium card stock. It has a thickness similar to that of Luxury Suite. The base cards are thick, but not as thick as that of The Cup. Does it mean it's not as good? Well, not really, but I would say The Cup base cards get a slight edge in terms of feeling more premium simply for their beefy-ness. Dominion cards, however, do hold an edge in terms of their rarity. The standard base card is limited to just 199 copies rather than the 249 of The Cup.

Legends and rookie cards round out the main Dominion set. The legend cards have a similar design to the standard base card except that they feature the year the player retired in the top right hand corner. The rookie cards, however, have a very different look than the standard base. There are 2 tiers of rookie cards: autographed cards limited to 199 and rookie patch autographed cards limited to 99.

As you can see from the example above, the rookie autographed cards limited to 199 are vertically oriented. There are some similar design elements to the standard base card (like the rounded design element behind the player), but they aren't very apparent when just glancing at the cards. Individually I think these cards are very nice and classy, but in context to the other cards they fall a little flat. These cards do not feature as much of the foiling that the standard base cards have, and the background is a bit boring. This is the only part of the main set that I wish had a bit more flair.

The rookie cards numbered to 99 mark a return to the horizontal format. These cards are beautifully done and feature very large patches from player worn jerseys. I have been impressed with many of the patches featured on these cards. The cards are clean, tidy, and will make highly valuable collectibles. Now unlike The Cup that features only a handful of the best rookies numbered to 99, Dominion has 20 players with the 99 card treatment. It will be interesting to see which cards collectors will end up clamoring for as time goes on. The rookie patch auto cards fall about one per 6 box case. I was able to pull the Jacob Marstrom/99 shown above in a box of Dominion I bought from The Hobby Box.

Base Card Design Score:

9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -

Just like Upper Deck's most high-end product, Dominion's desirability lies in its rich amount of autographed and memorabilia cards. Dominion has a hefty amount of insert sets that have tiered levels of rarity and memorabilia quality. I will not be able to speak on each individual insert set, but here is a sample that I received in my box. It will give you an idea of the quality and types of cards you can expect in a box of Dominion.

First off, Panini really makes use of their base card design. They take their base cards and change the foil color, add autographs, and embed jersey pieces to make a variety of base card themed inserts. This can be a good and a bad thing. It's bad because it can be dizzying trying to figure out how many varieties there are of your favorite player. But that being said, if a collector does manage to get the entire rainbow of the player they collect it would be absolutely stunning. This also provides for some serious collecting fun if you have the budget for it.

Above is an example of a Ryan Miller base card jersey variation. I happened to get a jersey parallel base card, but there are many themed insert sets in Dominion that feature small and plain jersey pieces like this. These jersey cards feel like box fillers. It is not necessary to include cards like this because collectors feel they do not add any value to the product. Sadly, these cards actually cheapen the high-end feel of Dominion. Jersey cards like this can be easily found in numerous lower end products. Hockey card collectors are already complaining a bit - and by 'a bit' I really mean 'a lot' - about the number of parallels in such a high end product. It really isn't necessary to have so many different parallel, low-numbered cards, and plain jerseys. They just dilute the product and make player collecting a nightmare. Hopefully Panini will listen to collectors and address this issue in future releases of Dominion.

Dominion does have many positive aspects though. It definitely fills in the void with players that Upper Deck has not included in their recent releases. It's great to see many of the players who played in the last couple decades get back on some premium cardboard. Hobby favorites from the 90's like Manon Rheaume, Ed Belfour, Jeremy Roenick, and Felix Potvin have cards in Dominion. I am really glad to see that Panini has taken the time to get some of these players into their products. It's such a surprise to be able to get these players again in a new release. I never thought I'd see the day! The 90's were a time when cards were overproduced so these players don't have many high dollar, desirable cards. Well, now they do. Kudos here!

You will find many interestingly named insert sets in Dominion. Here we have a Brass Bonanza card of Ron Francis when he was with the Hartford Whalers. Brass Bonanza refers to the old Hartford Whalers theme song. This insert set and inserts like this in Dominion bring fun to high end hockey cards. Panini definitely did right on this card. The card is very clean and showcases the team colors of the old Whalers perfectly. Even though I was never a Whaler fan, I really enjoyed pulling this card out of my box. Fun themed insert sets like this are a welcome addition. I don't think every new insert set is a winner in Dominion, but that's to be expected. I definitely applaud Panini's efforts in trying all these new concepts though - it's risky and gutsy to do such a thing. They are injecting a different feel to high dollar hockey cards that has not been done before. And that is totally refreshing.

Of course not all of the cards in Dominion are fun and games. Dominion has its share of right-to-the-point-premium wow inducing cards. There are so many cards in Dominion that have amazing patch pieces. I have seen break after break where I have been simply amazed at the quality of patch on the card. Dominion really shines in this area. Panini boasted that this set was the best to date in terms of patch quality. Seeing what they have put out so far, it's hard to argue against that.

A few of the cards in Dominion feature manufactured patches and manufactured name plates. I have not pulled any from the boxes I have broken, but there are cards that replicate the All Star logo as well as mimic the silver plating of the Stanley Cup. It will be interesting to see how collectors react to these inclusions. I for one don't think Panini needs to put these into Dominion. Having real player worn, game used, and autographed cards with a great design is definitely all that's really needed. Nothing other than that is necessary.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:

9.5/10

Overall Rating -
All in all Panini jumps into the high end hockey card market with a bang. To be honest, I did not think Dominion would be a product that could hope to even touch The Cup - but it proved me wrong. This product has a lot going for it. The cards are beautiful and feature amazing patches. I really enjoyed opening up my box and checking out the variety of players and themed sets. This high end release brings new things to the table and holds a lot of fun surprises. And I guess the word 'fun' is the most appropriate adjective here. Dominion is a brand new product with intriguing elements that are a joy to see and collect. It is certainly an exciting break if you can afford it. If you have the money to spare, Dominion makes choosing it or The Cup a mighty difficult choice. I'll let you decide what you want to do.

Overall Rating:

9.5/10

(Not an average)

Watch me break a box at my local card shop (D & P Sporscards in Sacramento, Ca)!

2010-2011 Upper Deck The Cup Review

2011-09-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

The moment that so many hockey card collectors wait for all year has finally come upon us... The Cup has arrived... and it absolutely does not disappoint.

Base Card Design -

This is definitely the year of stark and cloudy looking Upper Deck base cards. From the blue and yellow background clouds in Artifacts, to the faded out players in SPA, to the black and white Ultimate base, and now to The Cup... Upper Deck has certainly maintained a definite theme for the year. And they all look GREAT building it up.

I feel that this year's UD cards all have a certain seriousness to them. They seem to all say, "We mean business, and we will stomp on all other cards this year!" This certainly rings true for the Cup base cards. Each base card is very thick - as thick as a patch card in any other product. The card features a classy silver foil bottom edge with silver foil The Cup logo. The numbering is placed just above the player's name and team, and each card is limited to just 249 copies.

The design is not as simple as last year's, but is still very simple and elegant. I have to say that I prefer this year's to last. The bright background really highlights the player image very well, and the black bottom gives the card a nice contrast. You end up with a very sharp looking card as opposed to last year's where the base cards held a middle ground color-wise with its beige tones.

The autograph rookie patch cards are stunning this year. I did enjoy last year's bold modern design, but these cards meld older cup design with new. The cards remind me of SP Authentic's Future Watch cards - but with a more regal look. The cards feature a deeper red border and plenty of foil to highlight the patch that is included in the card. One qualm I have with the card is that the place for the autograph seems a little limiting, but other than that, there is no wasted space on the card. Most of the rookie cards are numbered to 249, but the top rookie cards are limited to just 99. Cards with only an autograph and no patch are numbered to 199.

Base Card Design Score:

9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -

The Cup is all about the themed memorabilia and autographed issues. There are a ton of sets to chase in The Cup. It would be difficult to write about each individual insert set, but I can highlight some of the best cards from my break as an example of what you can get when buying a tin of The Cup.

The Limited Logos set is back this year and better than ever. This year's design changes the window form a traditional rectangle to a shield look. Only in a product like The Cup can you get crazy looking patch cards like the Anze Kopitar shown above. Everything about the Limited Logos card just works. The autograph placed under the player next to a huge patch looks awesome. The simple colors do not take away anything from the beauty of the autograph and memorabilia... they only enhance it. I cannot stop staring at this card in person! Disappointingly, there are some Limited Logos that feature a full one color patch. I guess those are truly limited - limited to just one color! Hopefully you won't pull one of those.

The Cup Foundations cards also make their return this year. Instead of a horizontal design they have gone vertical. It's a nice change from last year. These cards are great to try and complete a 'rainbow' of. A 'rainbow' is a the complete set of cards of a player from each print run tier. There are Foundation cards that feature just jerseys or just patches, and there are some that feature a combination of autographs and memorabilia. It's definitely a challenge to put together because the auto/patch combination is limited to just 5 copies! The plain jersey cards are pretty affordable though and nice to add to any player collection.

Scripted Swatches is a cool memorabilia card to get. These cards feature the autograph of a player on a cut out patch. So it sort of marries the two types of chase elements. Sometimes the autographs on these cards can get a little blurry because the ink soaks into the fabric, but here on this Taylor Hall it works beautifully. Each Scripted Swatch card is limited to 35 copies.

Above is an example of the extreme rarity of some of the cards you can get in The Cup. This Gretzky card is limited to only 5 copies and features a very unique set of patches. Each patch on this card came from a jersey that Gretzky wore in an all-star game. The photos reflect which all-star game it came from. This is a very unique collectible, and you can pull stuff like this out of The Cup!

The Cup does have it's own set of parallel cards. Above is an example of a rookie patch auto parallel. The Cup has always had these types of cards - they are numbered to the jersey number of the player featured. This one is numbered to 65. This year Upper Deck chose to have hand-numbering on these cards. I really like it. It adds a bit more uniqueness to the card. Although these cards are great, often times even though they are more limited than their regular/249 counterparts, they do not sell as high since they are not considered a true rookie card. Obviously, if the print run is ridiculously low then it probably would. I'm thinking that the Taylor Hall numbered to only 4 would be worth more than the one to 99.

There are many, many more inserts in The Cup. It is definitely worth cracking a tin and seeing what unique things you will find!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
10/10

Overall Rating -

This product delivers in a BIG way. There is hardly anything more exciting in the hockey card collecting word than opening a tin of The Cup and seeing what's inside. Yes, The Cup can be a huge risk - especially if it is not a product you can afford. For those on limited budgets, I would say save up for a tin and give it a go or wait until some of the excitement has died down and purchase singles. No matter what you do, cards from The Cup hold their value well. This year's Cup carries on the torch from its predecessors. And it's a strong legacy.

It is the greatest product thus far, and will be difficult to topple. Dominion from Panini will come out soon and it will be very interesting to see how it compares to UD's best. Here comes a good fight! Stay tuned for my Dominion review!

Overall Score:
10/10
(Not an average)

Check out my Cup Break! Huge thanks to Chris from The Hobby Box and Chris from D & P Sportscards for carrying The Cup! Both are amazing hobby stores! Check them out!

2010-2011 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Review

2011-07-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

There have been many non-Upper Deck releases since UD's last release, many of which that have been non-spectacular, but here comes Ultimate Collection to remind us why Upper Deck's cards are the tops in the industry.

Base Card Design -
The Ultimate Collection brings us a nicely refined base card look. It is predominantly black, white, and silver with a full color image of the featured player. It is a simple, yet elegant design. I am unsure what the background is supposed to be of, but it reminds me of a globe for some reason. The smokey clouds in the background look like continents, and the lines rise up like the lines of longitude. Do you see the same thing? That could just be me...

But besides seeing things that aren't really there, I like the simplified look of the base card. Upper Deck has chosen to use silver foil to highlight the important aspects on the face of the card like the player's position, name, and number. Silver is a great choice here because it goes well with both the ice hockey theme and the stark black and white look of the card. Each regular base card is limited to just 399.

Rookie cards come in two varieties - signed and unsigned. The unsigned rookie cards are numbered to 399 and featured a design that is a spin off the regular base cards. The line contours under the player image follow the same contours as the regular base card. It's a subtle nuance, but let's the collector's know that these cards are related to each other. Very well done here by UD's designers. I really appreciate this detail here that ties the cards together.

The autographed versions of the rookie cards are very similar to their unsigned brethren except for a few key differences. The obvious first difference is that the cards are signed. The autographs are on card - which is awesome. They are located in the space between the player and the bottom border. The space is a little small, but sufficient. The second difference comes in terms of numbering. The signed cards are limited to either 299 or just 99. The hottest and most desired rookie cards receive the most limited treatment. And finally, the signed cards have a slight design difference. Instead of just a black bottom border, these cards feature the player's team's color. This design choice makes these signed rookie cards really stand out and look vibrant.

Upper Deck has done a very nice job with the base set of Ultimate Collection cards. They have come out very slick and modern. If I had one complaint, I would say that they are a little too stark. Taking some of the eye popping color choices from the rookie cards and incorporating them into the regular base cards could have elevated the cards even more. But that's just nit picking. UD Ultimate Collection base cards are very nicely done.

Base Card Design Score:
9/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Unlike Panini, Upper Deck steers clear of insert cards that do not feature either autographs or memorabilia on their higher end releases. And this is exactly what you find in Ultimate Collection - lots of autographs and memorabilia cards. Each one pack box will net you at least one autograph and one memorabilia card.

I really appreciate UD Ultimate because it is a product that consistently gives out good sized pieces of jersey or patch cards. The Phil Kessel card above is a good example of a very large jersey swatch. It is bordered nicely with gold foil and the background showcases his team's main color. I'm amazed at how well the card comes together! I have seen patch versions of this type of card with the window filled with an amazing patch. Those will definitely either sell for a premium on the secondary market or make a really unique addition to your card collection.

Here's an example of smaller, but more plentiful, swatches on a card. Again, notice the use of the team's colors. UD always does a great job having the player and their team represented nicely on the card. Above, both Crosby's Penguin's and OV's Capital's colors make it onto this card - and it's not distracting - it just works. And this is a beautiful card. Again, there is a patch variation to this card that is more limited and more beautiful.

Rookie material cards are also well represented in Ultimate this year. The Debut Threads series continues on this year and continues to look great. There are abundant opportunities to pick up your favorite rookie from this year's class on a great looking card. Like before, the Debut Threads come unsigned, signed, and with patch variations.

Other notable pulls in Ultimate are the Ultimate Signatures, Ultimate Nicknames, and the Ultimate Autographed Logo Shield cards. I can attest to the fact that the Logo Shield cards look amazing in person. After I bought two boxes of Ultimate at my local card shop, the owner opens a pack and gets one...

... it looked great!!! But I wish I had chosen that pack!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
9/10

Overall Rating -
Ultimate Collection definitely delivers on quality. It is a very solid, but pricey, product. Buying a box of it is definitely a risky venture, but an exciting one. I bought a three boxes last year and five this year. I have to say that in my three boxes last year, I got better cards than in my five total this year - but I did have fun opening all the boxes and seeing all the beautiful cards. And these cards are very beautiful. Upper Deck really does know how to put out a premium product. I definitely recommend buying some Ultimate if you can afford it. Even though you get so few cards per pack, these cards are worth it in my opinion. And who knows, a lucky big hit in this product could be huge in terms of trade or resale value. I'm of the opinion that this type of product is worth more of my money than buying a box of a mid-range product... I won't mention any names... but you probably know what I'm talking about.

So try some out and let me know what you get!

Overall Rating:
9/10
(not an average)

Check out some videos of me opening UD Ultimate Collection!

2010-2011 Score Rookies and Traded Review

2011-07-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Panini releases it's second little boxed set of the year... how does this compare to the last one?

Base Card Design -
The Score Rookies and Traded set's look comes directly from the Score base set released near the beginning of the 10/11 NHL season. And of course that's just the way it should be since it is really an extension of that set. In fact, the numbering of this set starts where the Score set left off.

The base cards in this boxed set come in two flavors: there are the regular Rookies and Traded base cards and the Hot Rookie base cards. The regular R&T base cards look exactly like the glossy cards from the Score set - the only difference being a large black and white Rookies and Traded logo above the player's name. This year's Score was designed to look like what it did in the 90's... and these cards do just that. The cards have a great retro flair to them that capture the spirit of the older sets that they emulate. The cards are clear, clean, and uncluttered. Job well done here.

This season ending set is a great way to capture players that were traded during the latter half of the season in their new sweaters. I know that I personally love to get the most current members of my favorite team in the home team's jerseys. This set provides the opportunity for that. It also provides opportunity to get cards of players that have returned to the NHL too - like Peter Forsberg. Forsberg came back to give it one more shot, but could only make a short stay in the NHL this past season. This Score set may be the last 'regular' card you can get of him.

Hot Rookies were a subset in this year's Score set and they are also found in the boxed set as well. These Hot Rookie cards have a different look than the ones previously release - these are better. Gone is the graphic background and generic geometric lines. The Hot Rookies available in the boxed set look more like the base cards and feature full action photos of the rookies. It's great to see the rookies in action on the ice in their NHL sweaters.

The base cards in the Score Rookies and Traded box set are a step up from their counterparts from the beginning of the season. I love the glossy feel on all the cards, the sharp design, and the improved Hot Rookie cards. This set's score improves upon it's bigger brother's.

Base Card Design Score:
8.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Just like the All Goalies set released previously, this one has some incentives for purchasing it. It has inserts and cards to chase!

Gold cards come 5 per set. The gold cards feature a gold border around the card as well as a gold colored Rookies and Traded logo. The gold touches on these cards make it very easy to tell that they are a parallel version of the set. I'm glad that these parallels are easier to spot than those found in All Goalies. Also unlike in All Goalies, the gold parallels seem to be randomly inserted rather than getting a block of parallel cards in a row. It's nice to have a parallel to this set, but this gold card variation probably won't be something that is in high demand. They just add another card for player collectors to chase after.

An autographed card is probably the main chase card to get when buying a box of Rookies and Traded. I prefer to have autographs over memorabilia cards, so getting a guarantee of an auto is enough to persuade me to buy this set over the All Goalies set if I had to make a choice between one or the other. The autographs are on stickers that are simply stuck to the front of the base cards. There's no special design for these cards - so that's a little disappointing, but an auto is an auto. And at this price point, it's appropriate.

The final card I would like to mention is a special card that Panini included in the set. It's a Taro Tsujimoto Hot Rookie. This card is numbered like its part of the regular set but I consider it a chase card because it falls about one per case. I appreciate how Panini has gone to lengths to put cards like this in to their products. If you don't know, Taro Tsujimoto is a fictional Japanese player that Buffalo Saber's GM Punch Imlach made up during the 1974 NHL entry draft. This name is the stuff of legend. It's a GREAT story and if you want to find out about it, it's just a Google search away. Anyways, it's awesome to have a card like this in the set. There is a regular version of this card and also a parallel version. The parallel version is said to be nearly impossible to get because it has a ridiculously low print run.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
The 10/11 Score Rookies and Traded set is a unique little item that is worthy of a purchase. There are many rookie cards of players who came into the NHL later on in the season as well as veterans in new uniforms. And if you have the entire regular Score set already, you must get this set to finish it off - along with the Tsujimoto, of course! The set won't set you back too much and it's fun to see what autograph and parallel cards you get out of it. If you happen to get the parallel Tsujimoto card, let me know! That would be an exciting thing to pull.

Overall Rating:
8.5/10

Check out my box of 10/11 Score Rookies and Traded below!

2010-2011 Panini Zenith Review

2011-07-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Panini brings back long lost Zenith back to the hockey card world. Does this once premium brand return to its former glory?

Base Card Design -
Well, first and foremost... Zenith has not returned as the top of the line brand it started out as in the 90s. I remember when Zenith was first released - the cards were golden foiled and came on very thick cardstock. These Zenith cards are nothing like those. The brand has come back as a mid-tier product at a middle of the pack price point.

The Zenith base card comes on thin, flimsy card stock and looks like it could have come from a low to mid end 90's base set. I'm not sure what happened here, but these base cards just don't do it for me. I think the best word that comes to mind for me in describing these cards is generic. Everything about this card says 'plain' to me. There's a spot for the Zenith and team logo and a the player name with a thick black border and that's it. It's not creative and the design does nothing to make these cards stand out. And even though the photo of the player is rather large on the card, it scarcely matters because everything else about the card is just plain boring. The backs of the cards are of the standard Panini fare - a line of stats and a short write up.

I really wished Panini would have made a better effort with these Zenith base cards. Back in the day you could recognize a set by its base card. Base cards set the look and standard for the entire set. You knew if a set was great by looking at the base cards. Here, the base cards disappoint in a major way. Panini had a golden opportunity in this first in hockey to re-kick off some great legacy brands. They have done that to some extent with Score this year, but this one, Donruss, and Pinnacle have all fallen a bit short.

The base set includes current stars of the NHL along with some legends and rookies. The legends cards are interesting in that Panini has chosen to show these former stars in jerseys that these stars are not typically remembered or shown in. I think this was a fun idea because I like these odd ball type things. Check out Cam Neely above in that funky old school 'Nucks uni!

And as usually for modern day sets, the rookie cards are limited and autographed. Unfortunately for these cards and as for the legends cards as well, they share the same bland design that the all the base cards have. There are a few minor differences in the rookie card - foiled team logos and a special foil rookie card logo as well as serial numbering.

Base Card Design Score:
4/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Despite Zenith's lackluster base set, its insert offering is better. Zenith offers many different types of inserts, game-used, and autographed cards. Below you will see a scan of some of the inserts I pulled from my first box of Zenith. I had to use a camera to take the picture instead of relying on my scanner because the nufex foil technique Panini employs does not scan well for me.

Many of the the Zenith inserts feature the nufex foiling effect. And I must say that I do like the foiling aspect of the cards. One of my main complaints about Panini has been their lack of good foil usage in many of their products. Well, here they use it very well. The nufex doesn't just add a shine to the card, it also adds some texture. The Mosaics insert features 3 players from the same team. Along the bottom portion of the card are a pattern of squares that reflect light differently creating a very cool mosaic effect. It's a pretty card but for one thing... if you look at the Mosaics card I pulled of the Penguins (bottom middle), you'll notice that there is only 1 jersey piece but 3 players on the card. I'd rather have no jersey piece than one loner piece like they did on that card. The card just looks off to me. What do you think?

Aside from the foiled inserts there are standard looking insert sets as well. Here are a few examples from the Chasing the Cup, Z-Team, and Gifted Grinders insert sets.

Insert sets like these really bring me back to the past when inserts pretty much looked like those shown above. I commend Panini for coming up with some nicely themed inserts and featuring players that might not otherwise get an insert card (like the Cal Clutterbuck card and others in that particular set). But the downside with these cards is that collectors nowadays want more from their cardboard. I can't see these cards being very desirable at all except in player or team collections.

Probably the most interesting aspect of Zenith this year has to be the Dare to Tear card that comes one per box. It is an oversized card that hides a smaller card within. Collectors can choose to keep the big card or rip it apart and see what regular sized card is inside. There are some pretty nice cards you can obtain by ripping the big card so I would not hesitate to tear and see. If you'd like to see me rip mine apart you can by checking out the video at the bottom of this post. I got a Tony Esposito Dare to Tear jumbo card... it got turned into... well... you'll just have to watch and see!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
7.5/10

Overall Rating -
Zenith is a very interesting product from Panini. Though the base cards have much to be desired, the inserts and fun you can have might make it worth a purchase. Zenith falls squarely into the mid-priced product range with boxes going from $80-$100 so it won't set you back too far. I definitely would not recommend buying packs because the potential to get all base or just jersey is too high - and you would have no chance of ripping the Dare to Tear card. A box or boxes is the way to go! All in all though, I don't think this year's Zenith stand out in the long run. So buy a box or two and wait for the big boys to come out soon!

Overall Score:
7/10
(not an average)

Check out what I got in a box of Zenith and watch me dare to tear!

2010-2011 Panini All Goalies Review

2011-07-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

Panini releases the first of its 2 boxed sets of the 2010-2011 hockey card season - All Goalies. It's a nice little package for the price... and a must buy product for all goalie collectors out there!

Base Set Design -
The base cards in this 100 card set have a sweet, modern look to them. Kudos to the the design team at Panini for these cards! Especially well done is the All Goalies logo. It's the perfect logo for this set and just looks so darned cool! It's great that every card in the set has this logo stamped in silver on the front.

The overall color scheme of the base set is black, white, and sliver - and these basic colors do a great job of bringing out the goalies on the fronts of these cards. The images of the goalies are in vibrant color and really pop off the card. I really like how the photo of the player takes up about 80% of the card. It is really all about the player on the front. These cards really do the goalies justice, and they stand out on these well-designed, classy cards.

The backs of the All Goalies cards are nicely done as well. Panini switches to a horizontal format for the back and includes a small write-up about the goalie. Like in some of Panini's other offerings this year, these cards do not have any stats included. The picture on the back is the same as the one featured on the front - but is pulled back a bit more so that you can see the what is going on around the goalie when the shot was taken.

The base set includes the current NHL goalies, retired stars, as well as some rookie goaltenders that may not have another card out yet this year yet. It's a very nice mix, and I'm impressed that Panini was able to cram in 100 goalies into this set.

Base Card Design Score:
9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
I find it really neat how Panini was able to add some collectability to this boxed set. In the past when you bought a set like this you simply got the basic set and that was that - no extras. Here, Panini gives you a few things to chase and get excited about as you open the little All Goalies box. First are the parallel cards. The parallel cards in the All Goalies set are called Up Close cards. Here is an example of one below. Tell me if you can spot the difference between this and a basic base card.

Did you notice a difference? It may be hard to tell at first. The only difference between the base card and this is the ghosted image of the player in the background. It shows an 'up-close' image of the player. Yes, it's definitely a very subtle difference. Other than that there is nothing else to distinguish the parallel card - no alternate colored foil, serial numbering, nothing to indicate that it is different except for that up close image on the front. I like the idea of having a parallel set here that can be relatively easily attained, but I would have really liked to see a bigger difference between the base and parallel cards. Also, the parallel cards you get will all come in a row. For example, if you get card number 1, you'll most likely get cards 2, 3, 4, and 5 as well. If you get card 6, you'll get 7, 8, 9, and 10. This could be nice if you collect a certain team and hit that teams numbering in the set... you'd get all the parallels in one shot!

The real excitement factor in All Goalies is the last card you get in the box... and it's the memorabilia card! It's awesome that Panini put memorabilia cards in this set to add a little extra fun for the collectors out there. The memorabilia cards feature a different design from the base cards - and that's good thing - it provides a bit of variety for the set. These cards showcase the goalie's team colors and a nice action shot. Of course, these cards still have the cool All Goalies logo prominently featured on them. You can get both jersey and patches within the boxes.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
7.5/10

Overall Rating -
Panini All Goalies is a nice little package at an affordable price. The set costs around $20 and you get 106 cards in one shot. For goalie collectors this set is a no brainer. It features a great variety of players from new comers in the NHL to retired hall of famers. It's not a set that you would really buy over and over again, but it has some fun inserts to try to obtain. This is definitely a set worth picking up and having in your collection.

Overall Rating:
8/10
(not an average)

Watch me open my box of Panini All Goalies!

2011-2011 Panini Luxury Suite Review

2011-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying this... there was a thread on Sports Card Forum that asked if Panini Luxury Suite could be better than UD's The Cup. Well, the answer is a resounding... NO!

Base Card Design -
Luxury Suite shares a similar characteristic to the product I reviewed last time - ITG Decades. Instead of just one pack with 6 six hits in that product, Luxury Suite features four packs per box with 2 hits per pack. The product is designed to maximize 'hits', so there are no 'regular' base cards. All the cards are either rookie cards, or have an autograph or memorabilia piece on it. The numbering on the back of the cards reflect that all cards are pretty much a part of the Luxury Suite set. This reminds me of Upper Deck Black from last year in that the regular set of cards were the memorabilia cards. For the purposes of this review, I'll review the rookie cards for the base set and the auto/memorabilia cards in the next section.

The standard rookie card in Luxury Suite incorporates a clean horizontal design with a close-up photo on one side of the card and an action photo on the other. The word 'rookie' is placed vertically in the middle of the two photos along with the player's team logo. The card itself is very thick and has a high gloss finish on the surface. The Luxury Suite logo is featured in bronze foil at the top center of the card. Overall the card is nice looking and feels premium. Looking closely at the card you can see that the designers really went for a 'marbled' look - a little like the Legendary Contenders insert from Panini Contenders this year. I think that this marbling is Panini's way of saying 'hey, this is a premium card!' - and I agree. It's pretty classy, and it works better here because the card is so thick. The card definitely feels premium. The basic rookie card is numbered to 899. There are many parallels of the rookie cards as well as autographed and memorabilia versions. Here's one that I pulled numbered to just 10.

Although the cards have some nice elements, the cards all together get a bit repetitive to look at. And because of the dual photograph nature of the card, the player doesn't really stand out on the card. These cards remind me a little of cards that feature two players on the same card. Panini has made an interesting design choice here - to combine an action shot with a close-up - but this may be a case where the idea is better than the execution and/or result.

Base Card Design Score:
7/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Well, Luxury Suite is all about the hits... and they come two per pack! Like the rookie cards, the hits come on very thick card stock and have a very high gloss front. There are all sorts of things you can get in Luxury Suite. Memorabilia ranges from standard jerseys to autographs to even pieces of players' game-used sticks!

The standard hit, of course, is the jersey card - and acutally, these would be the regular cards in the base set of Luxury Suite. These cards feature the stars of the NHL. The standard jersey card is numbered to 599. The card design is horizontally focused with the player on the right side and memorabilia on the left. The swatch size for the jerseys are appropriate for a product in this price range. They are about the size of the Authentic Fabrics in Upper Deck's SP Game Used product. Jersey cards now are not the rare gem that they were when they were first introduced. And unfortunately, these cards don't feel special in any way - they are just another jersey card. Aside from getting cards of your favorite players and teams, these cards won't be too desirable. From a design standpoint, these cards a very clean - but it's probably a bit too clean as there is a lot of white space around the card. There is some faux texturing in the background - but it doesn't really give it a textured look or add anything to the card. If the cards were truly textured and had a tactile enhancement maybe that would add to the desirability of the card and make the card better.

Some cards like the Pavel Datsyuk shown above feature two pieces of memorabilia. The individual pieces in these cards are smaller than the standard jersey card but usually are more premium. The dual memorabilia cards will have prime jersey pieces, stick pieces (some of which are really great looking), and parts of players' numbers as well. Panini has chosen to let you know what it is you are exactly getting by labeling the pieces. Aside from having multiple pieces of memorabilia, the cards share the same design as the standard jersey card.

Speaking of the same design, the autograph cards also have the same design as the game-used memorabilia cards. Although I have to say that the autographs are the best of the bunch. Because the space is not taken up by some square holes for memorabilia, the players got to use up the space for their autographs. It's neat when players have a lot of signing room on the card. The Denis Savard pictured above is a great example of a very nice on card signature. The card here looks great with his autograph on it. You just can't get that look on a sticker.

Speaking of same designs again... just kidding! Private Signings are insert cards that you can get in Luxury Suite that do not look anything like the rest of the cards. This is probably because the are not a Luxury Suite insert, but rather, an insert that Panini has chosen to put into a few different brands of its product line. The Private Signings are a breath of fresh air though in a box of Luxury Suite. These cards are *gasp* vertical! These cards feature on card autographs with a large space for the player to sign. I'm a fan of the look of the Private Signings cards. It's a clean design, but I don't feel as if there is any wasted space here - there is a large photo of the player, a large space for a signature, and some very nice foil touches. The only thing that doesn't make this card set a complete winner is that the card is razor thin compared to all the others. It comes on standard thin card stock. I wonder why Panini chose to do this. Otherwise this card set would be on par with cards from The Cup or National Treasures - it certainly has the same type of design/feel.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
My expectation for Luxury Suite was very high. I had seen mock ups of the product long before it came out and it looked great on paper... but this product just didn't reach expectations. And judging from comments from fellow collectors, this is a sentiment that is shared by many. There are a few reasons why this product was a bit of a let down.

One - the look. While the cards look nice individually... they all actually look very similar to each other. The design of the cards from player to player from jersey to stick to auto all look the same. There just isn't an interesting variety to the cards. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Unfortunately, the jersey cards are pretty cookie-cutter and the dual pieces of memorabilia also feel the same way. Panini could have made the set so much better by just incorporating some more varied design in this product. I can see that perhaps they were going for a uniform look on purpose - the Luxury Suite look, as it were - but it didn't work here. It's boring. And one more thing... Panini needs to realize that collectors don't just want jerseys anymore... it's ok for them to be there, but Panini needs to start pairing more jerseys/patches with autographs. That makes for a killer combination. Upper Deck has really done well in that area and I hope Panini follows UD's lead there.

Two - the player selection. There are many players in this set, which seems like a good thing until you realize that getting the players you want is very difficult. I've heard complaints that the checklist is full of too many players. It is very difficult to get a player that is 1. what you want or 2. worth $ to sell or trade. For example, in the Private Signings checklist you have players like: Chris Neil, Cory Schnieder, Dan Ellis, Dustin Penner, T.J. Galiardi, Wojtek Wolski, Matt Carkner, etc. Now I'm not saying these players are bad by any means... but they are not the players that people want to pull from their packs. And there are a lot of these type of players.

Three - the price. Luxury Suite packs are around $50 each and boxes run from $150-$200. That's a lot of money - especially for the pack. $50 to get two hits is a huge risk, but it's a risk some may be willing to take if the hits were perceived to be worth it. Luxury Suite breaks I have seen typically do not have the big name stars coming out. It's a lot of money for a big risk. It's a similar gamble to SP Game-Used... but in my opinion SP Game Used is even a better deal than this.

So, Luxury Suite is a product that I would only recommend to try if you can really afford it. It does not seem to be a product that collectors have embraced. If the price were to drop on this product, then and only then would I recommend getting some. I really did have some very high expectations of this product, and now that it is live, I'm disappointed. The product is not a complete bust, there are some nice cards to get here, but for the cost I'd just be looking for singles of the cards I really want rather than to crack boxes or cases of it.

Overall Rating:
6/10
(not an average)

Check out the Luxury Suite cards I got in this video!

2010-2011 ITG Decades 1980s Review

2011-06-11T15:57:00.001-07:00

Hey! This is my first review of an ITG product on the blog. I typically don't review ITG because I prefer to purchase NHL licensed products, but ITG Decades 1980s looked like so much fun... I had to try one out for myself! Here's my review.

Base card design -
Well, actually there is no base card design for this product. Decades 1980s is a product that features only inserts, game-used cards, and autographs. ITG has really slimmed down this product to give collectors only what they really want... the hits! I think this approach is great as long as there are other full sets with base cards in a company's product line-up. Having a set like this is a fun way to offer collectors a concentrated amount of hits and put it in a sweet little package that reflects the era of hockey that it represents.

Since there is no base set to talk about here, I would like to mention a little bit about the packaging of Decades 1980s. The cards come in a retro looking boxed set. Its slightly faded colors, fonts, and artwork all scream 1980s. The package looks like it could have come from 30 years ago. It really looks great and I find that when I see them, I just want to rip them all open and see what's inside.

When you open the package you do not see a 'pack' of cards in the usual foil wrapper. ITG has decided to put the cards in a small two piece plastic box - definitely an interesting way to get the cards, but it works just fine. Within the box you get 3 insert cards, 3 game-used cards, and 3 autographed cards.

Base Card Design Score:
N/A

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
This is what Decades 1980s is all about. When you first open the small plastic box up you are presented with your first 3 insert cards. The first insert card is from the 100 years of hockey card collecting set. This set spans many of ITG's products this year, and this is a continuation of that set. These cards are not 80's themed, but they are nice to look at and are great if you are trying to collect them all from across the different ITG products. The one I got was Pat LaFontaine. It's a very nice very retro design. I can see why many collectors would go for these.

The next two non-memorabilia insert cards are 80's themed. The insert sets feature 'faux' rookie cards like the Kelly Hrudey at the top of this post and cards like the one below featuring players and teams from the 80's. I really enjoyed these inserts because the Topps/OPC cards of the 80's didn't have many inserts. The inserts that ITG put in feature a rich write up of 80's hockey history on the backs. I primarily watched hockey during the 90's so getting to read about some of the players in the 80's on the backs of these cards was a great little history lesson for me.

After the first three inserts come the game-use cards. ITG really shines in the game-used department. I received three game-used jersey cards in my box. Each of the three jersey cards featured a good-sized chunk of game-used jersey. ITG specifies on the back that the pieces of jersey come from actual game-used jerseys as opposed to an event worn jersey piece. It's really nice to know that the pieces of cloth on the cards were from an actual game.

The cards themselves have a good, solid look to them. This Grant Fuhr card above is very clean and straightforward - the colors are of the team he is pictured in. It's definitely a functional card, but the 80's were all about doing things 'over the top' so I wish ITG would have chosen a bit more of a radical design than this. No, there definitely nothing wrong with the design, but it could be snazzier. One good example I can think of to compare are the Throwback Treads from 10/11 SPx... take a look at those to see what I mean.

This jersey card of Gary Suter is a little bit better in terms of a 'fun' design. I like the lines that traverse the surface of the card as well as the little white dots around them. A little Pac-Man influence, yeah?

Lastly, you get your three autographed cards. The wonderful thing about these are that they are hard signed, non-sticker autographs - definitely worth the price of admission here! They are sweet! Just like knowing the jersey swatches come from actual games, it's (and I'll use and 80's term here) rad to know that the player on the card actually held the card and signed his name on it. The cards are very nicely done. They look pretty nice, but just as with some of the jersey cards, the design could have a bit more pop to it. Like before, definitely not a bad design, but I am left wanting a little more from that aspect of the card. Many of the ITG autograph cards have similar elements to them. I'm not sure if I would call that consistency or monotony... I'll just say consistency for now.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
All in all, ITG's Decades 1980s is a very fun product to open. Anyone around during the 80's should definitely pick up a box or five of these. ITG has giving us a very fun product to open. And I've seen A LOT of people open this product. I'm sure it'll sell out soon, if not already. The design of the product (aside from the 100 years of collecting cards) are definitely 80's inspired. I would have liked to have seen a bit more risk taken with the designs, but they are still very solid and look good. In terms of memorabilia, ITG always hits a home-run. The jersey swatches on their regular memorabilia cards are a very generous size and are guaranteed to be from actual games. The autographs featured here are hard signed and there are definitely notable players to pick up in this set (Team USA!!!). So, do yourself a favor and get some of this product. It's a great product to rip into and see the old school goodness.

Overall Rating:
9/10

(not an average)

Check out my break of ITG Decades 1980s in this video below! Thanks to Chris from D & P Sports cards in Sacramento, CA for helping me shoot the video.

2010-2011 Playoff Contenders Review

2011-05-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

It's playoff time in the NHL and Panini appropriately releases their Playoff Contenders line. It was supposed to be released a month ago... was the wait worth it?

Base Card Design -
Like many of Panini's products released this year in hockey, Contenders is already a mainstay brand in other sports. It's probably most popular, and has had the longest run, in football. I'll always mainly associate the Contenders brand with football cards, but it works pretty well with hockey I must say.

The base cards are very sharp looking. The most obvious feature of the base cards is the ticket design that Panini employs. The entire left side of the base card features a 'season ticket'. Within this ticket are the player's name, team, position, number, years played, division, amongst other things. An action photo of the player is to the right side of the card. The designers have also tastefully highlighted the cards with the team colors.

The Contenders base cards are definitely better than Panini's other base card offerings this year. If you have been keeping up with my reviews this year, you'll know that my main complaint this year about Panini's base is that they are so 'flat' looking. What I mean when I say flat is that there are no effects on the cards to make them feel premium or pop out. This isn't the case with Contenders. Each Contenders base card has a bit of silver foiling on it. It's not a lot, but it really makes the cards feel more premium than, say, Donruss or Pinnacle.

Speaking of Pinnacle, the backs of the Contenders base cards are done in a similar way. The back of the card does not feature a full set of stats. In fact, there is no stat line. The back tells you the player's height, weight, date of birth, and how he shoots. A small paragraph about the player is featured at the bottom - and that's it! I'm fine with such little information given on a card's back, but others may prefer that they include the tradition listing of stats. There is definitely room for stats, it's just taken up by an enlarged player photo from the front side.

After the standard base set, Contenders features retired legends cards in a subset called Classic Ticket. These classic ticket cards are a smart way to insert into the set some of the players from the past that people still want to collect and find new cards of. The Classic Ticket design stems off the ticket motif used in the base set. The cards are printed on foil board and have a retro font to really give it some old time feel. Unlike the standard base, the classic ticket cards do feature a career stat line on the back along with a paragraph about the player.

Lastly, but definitely not least, are the rookie cards. There are unsigned serial numbered rookie cards and non-serial numbered autographed rookie cards. These rookie cards are what make Contenders a very collectible product. In comparing Panini to Upper Deck, Contenders is Panini's SP Authentic. The autographs are signed on card and provide collectors with unique collecting challenges.

The rookie cards share almost the same design as the regular base card but with a few key differences. These cards feature full foil on the card as well and the word 'rookie' where the team name was on the base card. The bottom of the card leaves room for the player's autograph.

These rookie cards are very well done. The foil really makes parts of the card stand out. The player really pops out of the card and the team colors kind of glow in the light. Panini did a very nice job on these. Before I saw them in person I wasn't sure if I was sold on these rookie cards. Having them in hand I can say that they are a winner in terms of look and design.

I mentioned that these cards also provide collectors with a challenge in terms of collecting. Here's why. Unlike SP Authentic, Panini has not stated the print runs of the rookie cards, nor are the autographed cards serial numbered. Collectors know from previous Contenders products that there are short printed rookie cards and super short printed rookie cards. Collectors will not know which one are SSP until Panini releases some figures. So collecting the set of these will be challenging because some cards could be very difficult to find and could be more expensive than originally thought (if a card has a particularly low run).

So overall, Contenders gets a strong thumbs up from me in terms of their main base set. The cards look great, feel premium, and will provide strong value in terms of collectibility.

Base Card Design Score:
9/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Contenders is a product that has A LOT of insert cards, a strong amount of autographs, and no game used memorabilia cards (please correct me if I'm wrong on this). If you're a collector from the 90's, Contenders will remind you of the days where insert cards were all the rage. I loved those days because in order to make a desired insert card, companies had to really think of unique ways to make the cards stand out and look good. Two of Contenders inserts really remind me of this - Leather Larceny and Against the class.

The Leather Larceny cards feature a texture on the front similar to the goalies pads. Having a textural difference has always intrigued me - be it the bumpy basketball feel on some basketball cards or faux pigskin on a football card. The feel of the card brings you closer to the game. It's great. The Against the Glass insert set is an acetate card that features the action right up against the glass and boards on the ice. The cards try to simulate what it would be like to be right up in that first row. Acetate cards have already been done this year by Panini, but it's good to see them continue to try them in new ways. Both of these insert sets come with autographed versions.

Most of the other inserts in Contenders this year come in themed sets put on foil board card stock. I have found most of these inserts to be very cleanly designed and I enjoy seeing Panini come up with interesting ways of grouping players in set. An example of this is the Lottery Winners insert set. This set features players who were drafted in the lottery and have since gone on to play well for their teams. The Jordan Staal card shown above is an example of this set. It shows that he was drafted 2nd in that draft class and includes the logo of the draft from his year - 2006. The photo of him comes from his draft year as well. It's funny to see how these NHLers have grown since they were rookies.

The Legendary Contenders insert set is one of my favorite designs this year. The design is very bright and the foil on white marble look really adds some class for this classy set. Obviously this set showcases players that are legends in NHL history. This card reminds me a little of a National Treasures card. I hope Panini continues to makes sharply designed cards like these.

Above is an example of a card that I'm not so fond of. This is a Draft Tandems card (purple version numbered to 100). This card was obviously meant to have a couple of autographs on it. If it did, this card would be spectacular and look great. Without the autographs, the card feels like it was just included in the set because it was already designed so they just printed some and inserted it into the set. Sticking the team name where the auto should be is a cop out. Both Upper Deck and Panini have been guilty of this in many of the past sets. I really wish this practice would stop. I'd say just leave these non-auto or non-game-used versions out entirely. Otherwise, you just have cards that look like they are missing their key element.

There are many other insert sets in Contenders and I'd suggest taking some time to check them out. There are The Great Outdoors (featuring the Winter Classic game shots), Award Contenders, and Rookie of the Year Contenders, and even Golden Ticket 1 of 1 cards.

So as you can see, if you are into insert sets, Contenders this year won't disappoint. Many of the insert sets have autographed parallel versions, but you won't find any game-used cards. I personally am OK with that because to me, I'd always rather have an autograph given the choice.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
Panini comes on strong with Contenders this year. It's a great product for autograph chasers. On average there are 4 autographs per box. In the box that I bought, I received 4 rookie ticket autos, but there are many autographed insert cards in this product besides the rookies. Contenders has a very pleasing design that feels more premium that most of Panini's offerings to date. But it also has a slightly steeper price tag as well. A box will cost between $130-$150.

I think Contenders is a great product to go against SP Authentic. It already has a strong following in other sports. Hopefully this will help Contenders make a strong splash for hockey collectors. And hopefully, the hard signed rookie cards will also hold up in value making this set desirable for years to come.

One negative that I must mention before I end my review concerns the collation of Contenders. I have been reading many forum posts where buyers are pulling multiples of the same players throughout a case. People have been getting multiples of the same autographed rookie cards. In fact, in my box I got two James Neal Against the Glass cards. This really shouldn't happen in a any product. It's unfortunate that it happened here.

Besides that, I hope you give Contenders a try. It's definitely worth a look at!

Overall Rating:
8.5/10

Check out my box of Contenders here:

2010-2011 Pinnacle Review

2011-04-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Pinnacle hockey is back! Panini brings back this premium brand with some old favorites and new twists!

Base Card Design -
The Pinnacle base card is crisp, neat, and clean, but does nothing to remind me of the old Pinnacle sets. I will always remember Pinnacle as the premium cards with the black border all the way around the edge, and these are as far away from that as possible. These Pinnacle base cards are very bright - white is the dominant color choice here. And they actually remind me a lot of the 10/11 Donruss base cards. They are not a badly designed card, but it just doesn't bring me back to yesteryear. I'm pretty sure I said the same thing along those lines about Donruss in my review of that product too. I guess Panini wants the old name, but not the old design. It's their choice really, but I guess I would have liked to see more of a connection to the old product besides the logo on the base cards.

The front of the base card features a ghosted out border on one edge of the card. A bar with the player's name, number, team, team color, and position can be found there. The card looks 'ok', but definitely does not feel premium in any way. The Panini products that have come out this year have tended to be very flat looking (exception: Crown Royale), and the same can be said here. I think it would have gone a long way in terms of the design of this product if Panini had decided to put some foil or texture on the card to create a more three dimensional separation between the border and the photo. If they had done this the base cards would have been so much nicer. It might have even made me consider going for this base set, but instead it just left me wanting.

Though I wasn't thrilled with the design, the one thing that really grabbed my attention was the choice of the photography. I loved looking through the base cards. I have to say that the photos chosen rival Upper Deck Series 1 and 2. Actually, many are more unique than those found in Upper Deck's offering. And that's saying A LOT because Upper Deck's base set features some really outstanding shots. Here are a just a few cards that show the variety that can be found within the Pinnacle base set.

I chose to display these three cards in particular because they are representative of what can be found in the photography of Pinnacle this year. The Matthew Lombari card shows him off the ice in a public situation. Hockey players do so much off the ice that fans are interested in seeing. It's awesome to show off these things on cardboard. The Ryan Miller card is a great up close action shot. There are many action shots taken from hockey games in all the hockey sets, but many that are found in this Pinnacle base set are of higher artistic quality. It's like someone cared to put a great photo on the Pinnacle base cards! The Miller is a great example of great hockey action because you can see the intensity of the moment he is in, his concentration on the puck about to be shot towards him. And I really like the Getzlaf card. My guess is that this photo was taken right after a whistle in a stoppage of play. It shows a great moment between him and Roberto Luongo. Who knows what was said! Was it a friendly exchange or something more intense. I don't know, but it's fun to guess!

The backs of Pinnacle hockey feature the same photo on the front but no, yep I said NO, usual statistics section! Instead there is an informational paragraph about the player. Some may not like this because it veers away so much from a typical hockey card, but this was something I thought was really neat about these base cards. It's great to read about the players on the backs of the Pinnacle cards. I'm sure it took a lot more and effort to do this but I appreciate their effort here. I have to give it up to Panini for doing that. Nice one!

Rookies can be found in the Panini base set as well. On average, there are 4 rookies per box. The rookie cards look exactly like the regular base cards... EXACTLY like the regular base cards except they have a little graphic in the corner that says 'Ice Breakers'. Unfortunately, I don't think these rookie cards look that great. The design of the logo isn't inspiring... even the 'Rated Rookie' graphic is better! But again I say, if it were in foil maybe it would have at least looked a little better and felt a little bit more special. As is... hopefully next year's rookie card design will be better.

All in all I have to say that the Pinnacle base cards have their ups and downs. There were things I really liked (like the photography), but things that I really didn't care for too (like the rookie logo and flatness in the design of the card). These base cards deserved a little bit more love before coming out of the factory. Some foil, some gloss, some texture! If they had that I think I would have definitely gone for a base set. For now though, I have to say that there are some great hockey photos on some plain cards. Still though, the photographs really drove the base card score up.

Base Card Design Score:
8.75/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Lots and lots of inserts can be found in Pinnacle hockey this year. The most nostalgic one, though, definitely has to be the Nufex parallel cards and inserts. Back in the day, Pinnacle had something called Dufex. Basically it was a special looking foiling process that had a burst effect. I remember being blown away by them when I first saw them in Pinnacle baseball. I tried to collect as many as I could - but with very little money back then, and a big set, it just didn't happen. Well Nufex looks just like Dufex - and it's still cool. And it's still very collectible. And I still want them... all of them! I'm sure this will be a popular parallel set to try and complete for collectors who fondly remember these types of cards like I do. Here's an example of a Nufex Ryan Miller.

You can see the bust effect pretty well here. Also notice how the card is textured. It's sort of like an Upper Deck Black Diamond card, but the burst effect makes it unique - and in my opinion cooler. These Nufex cards (also known as The Rink Collection) display exactly what I want from a card in terms of design stand point. The border of the card has not been 'Nufexed'. It has been glossed over for a more premium feel but does not have foiling. This difference in texture between the border and photo make a huge difference in card quality. It looks and feels great. Take some notes here Panini... this is how it should be done! I'm not saying the entire base set should have tons of Nufex or foil, but something... give it something!!! Alright, back to talking about inserts.

Also making a comeback are the Artist Proof cards. Artist Proof cards always puzzled me greatly back in the day. These cards generally came one per box and just had a stamp that said 'Artist Proof' on them. They didn't look as nice as the Dufex cards but were harder to get. I always thought a nicer card should be harder to get. Well, that didn't apply then and it doesn't apply once again. The Artist Proof cards in 10/11 Pinnacle just feature a gold stamp on the front and come one per box. It's really nothing special - there's not even serial numbering on the card. I'm definitely not a fan of the Artist Proof parallel. I'm not sure the where the desire would be to collect these other than those people who need every single card of player for the personal PC.

In terms of game-used inserts, Pinnacle has one called City Lights. These cards come with either jerseys or patches and are serial numbered. Insert sets featuring the home city of NHL teams have been done before, but I've always liked them. The City Lights insert set shows the skyline of the city of the NHL team as a backdrop for the player. It's simple and elegant. I like this design even though the jersey piece just floats there. The backs of the City Lights insert set give a little information about the city itself - not hockey information, but general historical information about the city.

Autographs can be found in Pinnacle in many forms. I happened to pull one of John Wensink. This one is part of the Tough Times insert set. Didn't Donruss have an insert set similar to this? This particular autograph is nice because it features an on card autograph rather than a sticker. There are many opportunities to gather autographs in Pinnacle, but this is the one I got. It's serial numbered to 250.

The next insert I will point out is the one shown above called Saving Face. I particularly like this insert from Panini because it's an insert that features something special - not just a differently designed card on the same cardboard stock as a base card. In the heyday of insert cards (the 90's before all the game-used stuff), insert cards had to stand out so designers had to think of ways to make them different. Often that meant adding lots of cool foil, or acetate, or some other gimmick. Nowadays inserts are printed on the same stock (there are exceptions, of course), with just a different design to make it an 'insert'. I'm glad to see that this insert features the Nufex technology on it. It makes the card stand out and special.

Here's one last example of a great insert. This one is called Chemistry on Canvas. This insert set showcases players that work well together. Besides having painted artwork, which is already a nice addition, the texture of the card is like that of canvas. It has a rough feel on the surface of the card. Though this type of texture has been done before (UD Masterpieces), it's great to have it adding variety to a hockey card release. I hope that Panini will continue inserts like these so that inserts will be special again.

This year's Pinnacle also features other great insert sets, but none were pulled for this review. Let me know if you get any of these: Pinnacle Pencraft, Pinnacle Pantheon, Pinnacle Threads, Rookie Team Pinnacle Signatures, Team Pinnacle, Fans of the Game.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
9/10

Overall Rating -
10/11 Pinnacle is a fun product to open. It features a great mix of inserts and super photography. At a little less than $100/box it's not too hard on the wallet. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be the hottest product of the season - but there will be cards in this set that people will enjoy. I really hope that collectors embrace the Nufex cards. They would look great in a binder all together and would be a worthy and challenging set to complete. Let me know if you go for it!

Overall Score:
8.75/10
(not an average)

2010-2011 Upper Deck SP Authentic Review

2011-04-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

Fiiiiiiiiinnnnnaallllyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! I can't believe it's been since the beginning of March since I've last posted a review. Well... that's because of delays from both Panini and Upper Deck. Really, last month should have had at least a couple of products come out, but instead it turned out to be a long dry spell for new hockey cards. Thankfully though, the drought in products has ended with a heavy hitting product: SP Authentic.

Base Card Design -
I've always loved the super clean look of SP Authentic. The cards are always on some sort of medium-thick white card stock with minimal but effective graphical enhancement. Some may argue that it is too simple and too plain, but for me, this is THE look for a premium hockey card. It's just classy looking!

This year's design features the player on a bright white background. There is nothing there except the player. And even the player is barely there - part of his image has been ghosted out just a little. It's a design choice that gives these cards a timeless feel, like a fading dream that's always there haunting you. Haha... sorry, I didn't mean to sound so artsy fartsy on you all the sudden, but that's just what comes to mind when I look at these cards.

The front also features the player's number prominently shown in large foil font as well as the player's name and team. All of these elements look great on the card. Upper Deck's use of foil on their cards always works. It just does some how! The foil elements enhance the card, and Upper Deck doesn't overdo it. It's exactly the right amount of foil to make the card look and feel premium. Huge props again to the UD design team. They should get a raise!

If I did have one complaint about the base set design though, it's the gray border on the right hand side. I feel it looks just a little out of place and is a jarring presence on the card. I don't really have a suggestion of what they could have done, just that it could have been more subtle since the rest of the card is so perfectly executed. I just feel it is a little out of place. Not a huge complaint, but it's the one part of the card that I didn't particularly like.

Also a part of the base set is the SP Essentials sub set. This is one of 3 main subsets of the main base set. The other two are the Future Watch and autographed Future Watch cards. This year's Essentials set takes the timeless feel of the cards and goes a step further. These cards look great! Each card is oriented horizontally with serial numbering to 1999. The cards are very minimalist in color. A ghosted out head shot of the player is set in the background next to a softer black and white image of the player. I think that the colors used and the modern fonts create a perfect subset for the main cards. I have nothing bad to say about the Essentials. It is worth pointing out though that these cards would be perfect for getting in-person autographs on. There is just the right amount of space there to fit a good sized signature.

Just like the Young Guns are the bread and butter of the regular Upper Deck release, the Future Watch cards are the meat and potatoes part of the SP Authentic set. Yep, they are that important. The Future Watch cards, most notably the autographed ones, have a huge following and are heavily collected by many people - including myself. Last year I completed the entire auto set and I will try to do the same this year as well.

This year's Future Watch shares similar characteristics to the base card's design, but up the bold factor a little. Instead of grays and silvers, the Future Watch cards feature a deep red colored border as well as gold foil stamping. These cards have a nice look to them, but I don't think they fit as well in the color scheme of the set as a whole. The red and gold change the entire feel of the Future Watch cards compared to the base cards and Essentials. I personally think they should have used navy blue for the bordering. That might have been better and more of a match in terms of whole set 'feel'. As they are now, they sort of remind me of an Ultimate Collection card. It doesn't matter really though because everyone's going to want these cards!

All in all the base set of SP Authentic this year is tremendous. The base cards and Essentials are both improved over last year's design. The Essentials especially are nice. I have to say that I did prefer last year's Future Watch cards a bit more than this year's offering, but still they are good looking cards that many will be clamoring to get!

Base Card Design Score
9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
The main draw of SP Authentic must be the Future Watch Autos, and these make great hits when you buy a box, but there are plenty of other cards to chase when buying SPA. One of the consistent inserts over the years have been the Sign of the Times cards. They make their return again in this iteration of SP Authentic.

The Sign of the Times cards fuse elements from the base, Essentials, and Future Watch sets. They have a gray border like the base cards, a horizontal orientation a la the Essentials, and a blue ink autograph like those of the Future Watch cards. Combining all these elements makes a very nice looking piece of cardboard. If there weren't so many of them I'd even think about putting the set together - I imagine that all of them together would look really sweet. Though they look great, the problem lies in the amount of them. The Sign of the Times checklist nears 100 cards, and there are short printed versions amongst the set. It's a hard set to put together, and getting great players is also difficult. I pulled 3 SOTT autos in my 3 boxes (Barry Melrose, Jamie McBain, and Bobby Sanguinetti) and none of them made me excited. Melrose was kind of cool to pull, but if I really wanted it, it could easily be found and for a very reasonable price. Far less common are the multiple signature Sign of the Times cards. It's possible to pull 2 autographs on one card up to eight on a single card. These muli-autographed cards are always great to pull if you're lucky enough. This year there are cards that feature multiple signatures of the same player. It's an interesting concept... but definitely not my idea of a radical and cool idea. I think I'd receive the same happiness from pulling a card with only 1 Crosby auto than one with 2 on there. But maybe there are people out there who really like this idea. I just don't happen to be one of them.

Rounding out SP Authentic's autograph inserts are Prestigious Pairings, Future Watch Patches, Base card patch parallels, SP Chirography, Immortal Inks, and Marks of Distinction. Getting these cards are more difficult than the regular Future Watch Autos and SOTT cards. Each of these insert cards usually feature a pretty low numbering and have strong selling values.

It really helps that the autographs are all hard signed on card. This is one of the main reasons why SPA is always so well liked - the cards were all held and signed by the actual player on the card rather than a sticker placed on the cardboard.

Besides the Future Watch Patch auto cards and base variation patch cards, there are no other memorabilia opportunities here - and I'm totally fine with that. Game-used cards that feature jersey swatches and patches are neat, but I don't think they have ever been better than getting an autograph of a player. SPA doesn't water itself down with cheap, low-valued memorabilia cards. I really appreciate that about this product. It's really about getting the authentic signature of a player hard signed on the card. And that works really well for me!!!

Finishing off the insert sets in SPA are the HoloFX and HoloFX die-cut cards. The HoloFX series has been around for a long time, but instead of keeping value or staying a high interest focus point to collect, they have not stood up well to the test of time and long term collectibility. The cards used to be one of the best things you could pull out of an SP pack. And they used to feature a three dimensional picture of the players head that could turn - now they are just cards with some nice foil on it. The cards look nice and modern, but collector interest has definitely shifted. Looking at prices on eBay for these cards will tell you that this set is not at the forefront of collector's minds and wallets. That's really too bad though, because it would be great to have a high valued card without an auto or patch piece on it. (Well, Ice Premier Rookie Cards comes to mind... but these kind of cards are few and far between.)

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
9/10

Overall Rating -
SP Authentic is as good as it ever was. It continues its hobby dominance this year by offering up some great looking cards, valuable rookie cards, and hard to get autographed cards. It's definitely one of the products that is a must buy this year. That being said though, I really believe that you must buy this product in boxes rather in packs. SPA boxes are definitely hit or miss (more on this a little later), but packs are ridiculously hard to get anything out of. There are a TON of base packs per box, and packs are in the slightly around or over $5 range. Whenever I buy packs of SPA I already know I'm about to get a ton of base, and if I'm lucky, a hit... and if I'm really lucky, a hit that's not a scrub. So I'd just save my money and get the full box to guarantee all the hits I should get out of a box. And even buying boxes is a tricky situation because many boxes really won't give you good value back. I know this because it took me three boxes before anything good came out. And I've seen forum post after forum post of box busters getting very little in good value. Of course I've seen some really great cards pulled... but just like anything else I guess... you really just have to be lucky with the box you choose!

Even though I feel like I got jacked with 2 out of 3 boxes of SP Authentic, it is still a very high quality product worthy of purchase.

Overall Score:
9/10
(not an average)

Check out the three boxes I got on Youtube below!

And please feel free to leave me a comment or subscribe to me on Youtube!

2010-2011 Panini Crown Royale Review

2011-03-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

Base Card Design -
So here comes one of the most unique products of the hockey card season - Panini's Crown Royale Hockey. This is yet another brand that Panini has resurrected from the past. I'm not sure if I had fond memories of the old Crown Royale, but I remember always being intrigued by the concept and enjoying the funny crown die-cuts that are the signature of this product.

What stands out to me is obviously the base card. It's just a fun card that looks great. It features a pompously royal (in a good way) foil crown on top of the card. The players are featured nicely front and center, and team colors provide a subtle backdrop. Unlike other Panini products, Crown Royale doesn't just have a completely plain surface (i.e. Donruss/Score) or a completely foiled surface (i.e. Certified/Limited) - it mixes the two in a very nice way. The foil on the Crown Royale cards help the key features of the card really pop. The crown is, of course, in foil as is the player's name and team. The simple design elements of the card all reflect a royal, kingly effort.

The rookie cards look exactly like the regular base cards except for a white area that features the rookie's autograph. The autographs that I received in my box were numbered to 499. I'm not sure what could have been done, but the white area is a little distracting and is a stark contrast to the rest of the card. The top rookies from this year are numbered to 99 and have a very special design. These cards feature a large memorabilia patch with a silhouette of the rookie die cut in front of it. I was not fortunate enough to pull one, but they are pretty nice looking cards. Check out eBay for some pictures if you're interested. They are sweet.

My only complaint about the card is that it is pretty thin for a higher-end card. I would have liked the cards to be a little more substantial. Panini has the habit of making all their cards on thin card stock. I feel that Crown Royale would benefit from having a card stock similar to that of UD Ultimate Collection. It would give the cards a more rigid feel that would tell me that this is a high-end product.

Base Card Design Score:
9/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Crown Royale definitely has it's share of inserts, game-used cards, and autographs. I'll start with the regular inserts. The regular inserts have some great themes going on. I pulled a Royal Pain. These cards showcase the hardest hitters in the sport. Here's Steve Downie:

The photo used on the card is perfect for what the card is trying to convey. Other inserts feature other themes just as well. A goalie insert called In Harms Way shows the danger that goalies have to face as they try and keep the puck out of the net. These inserts are nice ways to put in interesting portrayals of players that might not get the spotlight all the time. The inserts have generous amounts of foil applied to them. They are nice cards, however, just like the base cards, I wish they were on thicker stock.

Speaking of thicker stock, I did manage to pull a rather thick card, this Jonas Gustavsson Heirs to the Throne patch card numbered 27 of 50. The Heirs to the Throne set has a very nice and clean design. It actually reminds me a little of some of the National Treasure cards from Panini's other sports. Again, the name of the insert set really goes well with the theme of Crown Royale.

This card above is called Scratching the Surface Signatures. Panini had the players sign a mini hockey rink and embedded it into the card. It's Panini's way of showing that the signature is more 'on card', but in reality, this is really in the same class as sticker autographs. I think that these cards have a smart design to them, but to me it comes off a little gimmicky. I think this card could have been enhanced if the 'ice' rink were made of acetate or some other material. Panini has done this type of insert card in other products as well, so it's not a surprise or anything new. These types of inserts really have to rely on their design to stand out. The Scratching the Surface Insert set to me is just 'ok'.

Parallel cards of the base set are also found in Crown Royale. This card of Joe Pavelski features a gold foiled crown. Regular base cards have silver crowns while limited numbered cards have crowns of varying colors.

There are two insert sets that I didn't get any of but I sort of have a problem with. One is the Calder Collection set. I know that this set is supposed to be a vehicle to have rookies featured, but really... this year's Calder winner might possibly come from last year's card crop (Logan Couture/Micheal Grabner). Panini has had a while to think out this set, and I think it would have been a smart thing to do to feature Couture or Grabner as well as the players that made their debut just this season. It could have been a great way to show how 'on top of things' Panini is. Ahh well, one less Couture card for me to chase! The other set I'm not a fan of is the Royal Lineage set. This insert set features three tiny pictures of the players. I've seen this design from Panini in all the sports that they do. Panini (and UD too) should re-think how they feature multiple players on a single card. Designs like Royal Lineage need to be a thing of the past!

Crown Royale has many more inserts to pull that I haven't mentioned. One insert that I think is unique is the Voices of the Game Insert. Not everyone likes these non-hockey player inserts, but it's great to see some announcers get some cardboard time. The Razors Choice insert set is also another insert that really stands out. Check these sets out if you get a chance!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8.5/10

Overall Rating -
Crown Royale is definitely a quirky product. There are things I really like about the cards and definitely some issues I have with it as well. Overall this is fun, short little break. To me, Crown Royale has a high-end price and look, but not a high-end feel. I hope that in years to come Panini will continue this product and improve upon it (thicker card stock PLEASE!). Opening Crown Royale now really reminds me of opening it when Pacific produced it many years ago, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing. I think Panini can really step up this brand. For now, it's a nice product - but I won't be buying heavily into it. A few boxes of it here and there and picking up desired singles is the way to go!

Overall Score:
8.5/10
(not an average)

Check out my breaks of Crown Royale on Youtube! Also, subscribe and friend me if you would be so kind. Thanks!

2010-2011 Upper Deck Series Two Review

2011-02-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

Base Card Design -
Well, there's obviously nothing different between this and UD Series One in terms of base card and Young Gun design, but I will say that Upper Deck has continued to produce cards with the best and sharpest photography. The shots of the hockey players are great. There are the standard action photos, but there are also quite a few unique shots captured on cardboard that other companies don't usually bother choosing to put on the front of their cards (I'm looking right at you Donruss!). Instead of giving a review of the base design in this post, I'll just highlight some of the cards that stood out to me as I broke my boxes. If you'd like to check out a review of the card designs, feel free to CLICK HERE to go to the review of Series One I did in November of 2010.

So here we go! When flipping through the cards on my first break of the product, I could not help but stop at certain cards. Instead of just blasting through base cards looking for hits and Young Guns, I literally had to just stop and admire the moments UD captured on card. The cards are in no particular order.

Goalie cards are especially great this year. Check out Nitty making an awesome pad save!

I love how it feels like you're right behind Khabibulin as he enters the rink.

Another great shot of a goalie coming onto the rink... but from the other side!

Notice the sign behind Nathan.

It's great to see photographs of moments from before the action.

The cards above are just a few stand outs. I purposely chose the horizontal cards to put in this post because I really like the way they let you see a wide few of the action or poses. Here are some other cards I really enjoyed from this set. Sorry I don't have a scan of them, but if you get a hold of them let me know if you liked them as much as I did. They are:

Marc Savard, Alex Tanguay, David Booth, Dennis Wideman, Luca Caputi, Ben Eager, Rick DiPietro (with PINK pads!), Johan Hedberg, Brian Rolston, and Thomas Vanek.

The Young Guns design has grown on me a little bit since I reviewed it in November. I still like 2009/10's YG a little better, but I'll admit that these are pretty nice too. I'm going to up my original base card design score just a touch. Here it is.

Base Card Design Score:
9.5/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
Upper Deck has continued on with some of the inserts from Series One. Hockey Heroes and the Retro cards are back! I like the idea of the Hockey Heroes card set but I'm not a big fan of the design. For Series Two Upper Deck chose to feature Bobby Orr (Series One had Steve Yzerman). Obviously Orr is a legend so having him as the star of this set was a no brainer. This would be a fun set to put together through the years.

Retro cards also make a return. I think the retros are nice and would be a fun and challenging set to complete, but I'm just not a fan of how cheaply made the standard retro card is. It is SO cheap feeling and thin! I was fortunate enough to get a couple retro Young Guns in my break this time. It doesn't look too much different than a standard retro card. Back when Young Guns first came out they didn't have a drastically different design than the standard base card. They just featured a special Young Gun logo. If you don't look carefully at your retro card you might even miss that you got one!

One insert that was not featured in Series One were the Rookie Material jersey cards. This year's Rookie Materials card reminds me a little of SPx - I think it's because of the color scheme that they used. These cards are nice and clean looking and have a modern feel to it. My only complaints about these cards are that the jersey pieces are pretty small and that the name can be difficult to read.

Last year Upper Deck Series Two spiced itself up with adding Victory Update cards into packs. UD has chosen to do the same this year as well. There are lots of great Victory rookies this year and they can be pulled out of the Series Two packs. It's a nice added value to the pack - though usually the value of these rookie cards aren't that high. I'd say that collecting the update set is much more worth it than going for the initial release though. Ugh! The original Victory set had nothing of value to really make anyone want to get some!

Beside regular Victory Update cards, you can get gold and black variation cards too. The gold rookie cards are nice as the gold foil has a little bit of shine to it.

The inserts featured above are the common inserts that you can expect to pull out of a box of Upper Deck Series Two. There are other inserts that feature autographs and even acetate cards that are much more difficult to pull. Because of the variety of inserts you can pull in Series Two, I'm also going to up the score from what I gave Series One inserts.

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
Upper Deck Series Two continues where Series One left off. I think UD 2 tends to be a little less great traditionally than the Series One release because there are not as many stand out rookies in it, but this year there is a lot of variety in a Series Two box along with some great young talent in the Young Guns set. It's definitely a fun break and I highly recommend cracking open as many as you can!

Overall Rating:
9/10
(Not an average)

Check out these videos of my Series Two box breaks!

2010-2011 Upper Deck SPx Review

2011-02-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

This year's Spx really surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but Upper Deck has come through with a well designed product that is a great value.

Base Card Design -
First off, the base card. The 2010-11 base cards are horizontally aligned and feature geometric elements set amongst a dark gray/black/off white background. This is a sharp design that really looks great! Gold foil highlights the player's name, team logo, and the SPx logo. I really think that UD has come up with something very classy and modern here. It's a really dressed up based card! The more I look at it, the more details I see that I like. Whoever came up with this design gets a huge thumbs up from me! I can't really complain about anything. For people who like seeing the hockey rink and fans, I can see why this type of card may not appeal, but other than that I can't find any fault. Nice job here.

To collect the entire numbered set of SPx you'll have to chase limited rookie cards and a hard to pull subset called Flashback Fabrics. Above you will see an example of an SPx rookie numbered to just 499. This rookie card features a dark gray foil background. Instead of being horizontal, the card is upright. These rookie cards are not as eye catching as the base cards to me. I think the dark foil makes the card disappear a bit too much. The light greenish corner borders on the top and bottom right corners don't go as well with these as they do with their jersey card counterparts.

Speaking of which, here it is - the auto-jersey counterpart. These cards are nice because they feature both a piece of jersey as well as the player's autograph. It's strange, though, that these jersey autos have a higher serial numbering than the ones that don't have it. The white background on these cards really brighten up the look of it, and the background actually compliments the green corner borders. This is an eye catching card and the piece of fabric it comes with has a nice prominent position on the front of the card. As usual with rookie jersey cards now, the memorabilia comes from an event rather than an actual game. I'm not too picky about that, but there are many who really just want the game-used pieces.

Fortunately, there are actual game-used cards in the regular numbered set. These come in the form of a subset called Flashback Fabrics. These cards use a quasi-retro design. The Wendel Clark I got is a very nice and clean card. The colors on the card go really well with hockey, and having the player in black and white keep up the retro flair. The Flashback Fabrics set is a difficult one to complete though. These cards are case-hits, I believe, and there are autographed versions that are an even harder pull. Good luck with it if you're interested in getting them all.

Base Design Score:
9/10

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos -
I've seen a lot of breaks so far of SPx and it seems like people are getting 5 or 6 hits per box. Most people expected 4 hits, so getting 1 or 2 more is great. I got 5 hits in my box and was quite happy. The standard jersey card in SPx is called Winning Materials.

These cards feature 2 jersey pieces. The basic design of the card mirrors that of the base card except with a lot less geometric business going on. I usually like a card that is cleaner and plain, but I feel that it would have been nice to fill in some of that white background with a design of some sort. They really could have just taken a page from the base card design and re-used it just like they did for most of the card, but they chose not to. In my opinion these standard jersey cards are nicer than the ones from Series 1 and Black Diamond.

Winning Combos cards feature 2 players instead of 1. These cards are horizontal and have a very similar design to the Winning Materials. I like how you can tell that these cards are definitely in the same card 'family'. My only complaint about the dual jersey card is that putting the team logo in a blank space of the card reminds me of what Panini does to take up room where there should be an autograph of game-used piece.

The final memorabilia card I received was from the Rookie Materials set. I think these cards are very nice looking. The light green background with the swirling geometric grid lines is a nice looking design element. The card is very modern looking and each part of the card comes together very well. Since I got Braden Shenn, my jersey piece was purple which complimented the colors used on the card perfectly.

My final insert was a limited SPx Finite Rookie insert card. The card is limited to just 499 and shares some similar design elements of the Rookie Materials inserts set - notice the left border in particular. It's a card that features a lot of foiling. I've noticed that in SPx, if a card doesn't have a memorabilia piece, it gets a lot of foil treatment. Well, I guess it had to have something!

Inserts/Game-Used/Autos Score:
8/10

Overall Rating -
This year's SPx is definitely a great surprise. I wasn't too happy with SP Game-Used this year, and I wasn't sure if Upper Deck could pull it off with SPx - but they did. I would definitely choose SPx over SPGU this year. The value that comes from a box is so much better - on average. Plus, boxes of SPx are currently about $50 cheaper than SPGU. I think it's a no-brainer which one to choose for those on a budget.

Also going for SPx is the look and design of it. The cards are very well done this year. I think that SPx has always 'tried' to make a futuristic product, but with this year's cards I don't think they tried - they just did. UD has come out with a fantastic looking set that is fun to break with some good value per box.

I definitely want to pick up another box of this stuff!

Overall Rating:
9/10
(not an average)

Check out my box break from the Hobby Box below!